Why Do You Go to University? Outcomes Associated With Student Beliefs About the Purposes of a University Education

Colver, Mitchell C ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Utah State Univers 2018 해외박사(DDOD)

Students enter the realm of higher education with a wide variety of beliefs about the purposes of attending university. Research demonstrates that some student motivations align more fully with intrinsic factors, while other student motivations.

Mental Health Awareness and Advocacy: Assessment Tool Development and an Evaluation of a College-Based Curriculum

Aller, Ty B ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Utah State Univers 2019 해외박사(DDOD)

Students’ mental health issues are a common concern on college campuses and are often addressed via prevention programming called mental health literacy. This dissertation consists of two studies regarding mental health literacy programming for college students at a western university in the United States. In study one, the Mental Health Awareness and Advocacy Assessment Tool (MHAA-AT)was created and evaluated for its utility in assessing college students’ mental health literacy. This assessment tool is unique in that it is built upon a process-based approach to mental health literacy. The assessment tool demonstrated adequate psychometric properties and it was deemed an appropriate tool to assess college students’ mental health literacy, specifically their declarative knowledge, self-efficacy, and behaviors. In study two the Mental Health Awareness and Advocacy (MHAA) curriculum was created and evaluated in a college student population. The MHAA curriculum is unique in that is taught in-person or online in a degree seeking program at a college or university. Results from study two suggest that the MHAA curriculum was effective in increasing college students’ mental health literacy scores, specifically their declarative knowledge and self-efficacy. The benefit of this two-study dissertation is that it provides a unique way to deliver and evaluate effective mental health literacy prevention programming on a larger scale via a degree-seeking program to college students.

Representation of Students with Disabilities in Charter Schools Compared to Traditional Public Schools

Smith, Brenda K ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Utah State Univers 2022 해외박사(DDOD)

There is a perception that charter schools enroll a disproportionately lower number of students with disabilities than traditional public school districts (TPS). Coupled with this perception are antidotal stories of students with disabilities being turned away by charter schools during the enrollment process. This study sought to determine what research has been completed to compare enrollment of students with disabilities in charter schools to enrollment in TPS, complete data comparisons on an entire state education system to see what enrollment differences exist for students with disabilities in charter schools and TPS, and review federal reports regarding students with disabilities to determine if differences exist for implementation of special education law between charter schools and TPS. This research has societal benefits as it assists in determining if charter schools are equivalently learning environments for students with disabilities as far as access and outcomes. This study also provides a framework that can be replicated for any state-level education system for determining equivalency in access for students with disabilities in charter schools. The results of this study can be used to help state departments of education determine targeted training for charter schools or TPS on special education topics to increase equity across school settings. It can also be used at the state-level to help hone charter school legislation and regulations to ensure charter schools don’t develop into separate education settings that demographically differ from TPS.

Quantification of Hydrologic Response to Forest Disturbance in Western U.S. Watersheds

Goeking, Sara A ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Utah State Univers 2022 해외박사(DDOD)

Forested watersheds produce more than half of the water supply in the United States. Forests affect how precipitation is partitioned into available water versus evapotranspiration. This dissertation investigated how water yield and snowpack responded to forest disturbance following recent disturbances in western U.S. forests during the period 2000-2019.Chapter 2 systematically reviewed 78 recent studies that examined how water yield or snowpack changed after forest disturbances. Water yield and snowpack often increased after disturbance, but decreased in some circumstances. Decreased water yield was most likely to occur following disturbances that did not remove the entire forest canopy. It was also more likely to occur in more arid watersheds at lower latitudes, such as in the southwestern U.S., and on south-facing aspects.Chapter 3 examined 159 watersheds across the western U.S. to determine how often and where water yield increased or decreased following forest disturbance. Overall, more severe forest disturbances, particularly in relatively wet watersheds such as in the Northern Rocky Mountains or Pacific Northwest, were more likely to produce larger water yield. However, forest disturbances in very arid watersheds, such as those in the southwestern U.S., were more likely to result in less water yield.Chapter 4 developed a new method for more precisely mapping forest canopies and understory forest vegetation. This method used data collected by the U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Inventory and Analysis Program. The maps of separate forest canopy and understory vegetation layers are expected to allow hydrologists to make more accurate predictions regarding the effects of future vegetation changes on water supply.Previous studies that monitored water yield before and after clearcut timber harvests concluded that forest disturbances would lead to increased water yield. In contrast, the work presented here found that disturbances that do not remove the entire canopy (e.g., due to insects, drought, disease, thinning, low-severity wildfire) may lead to different water yield and snowpack responses than disturbances that remove the entire canopy (e.g., clearcut harvesting, severe wildfire). This work has therefore helped us better understand how future water supply, for people and for ecosystems, will be affected by future forest changes.

Advancing the Cyberinfrastructure for Smart Water Metering and Water Demand Modeling

Attallah, Nour A ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Utah State Univers 2022 해외박사(DDOD)

With rapid growth of urban populations and limited water resources, achieving an appropriate balance between water supply capacity and residential water demand poses a significant challenge to water supplying agencies. With the recent emergence of smart metering technology, where water use can be monitored and recorded at high resolution (e.g., observations of water use every 5 seconds), most existing research has been aimed at providing water managers with detailed information about the water use behavior of their consumers and the performance of water using fixtures. However, replacing existing meters with smart meters is expensive, and effectively using data produced by smart meters can be a roadblock for water utilities that lack sophisticated information technology expertise. The research in this dissertation presents low cost, open source cyberinfrastructure aimed at addressing these challenges. Components developed include an open source algorithm for identifying and classifying water end use events from smart meter data, a low cost datalogging and computational device that enables existing water meters to collect high resolution data and compute end use information, and a detailed water demand model that uses end use event information to simulate residential water use at a municipality level. Using this cyberinfrastructure, we conducted a case study application in the cities of Logan and Providence, Utah. We tested the applicability of the disaggregation algorithm in quantifying water end uses for different meter sizes and types. We tested the datalogging computational device at a residential household and demonstrated collection, disaggregation, and transfer of high resolution flow data and classified events into a secure server. Finally, we demonstrated a water demand model that simulates the detailed water end uses of Logan’s residents using a combination of a set of representative water end use events and monthly billing data. Using the data we collected and the outputs from the model, we demonstrated opportunities for conserving water through improving the efficiency of water using fixtures and promoting behavior changes.

An Exploration of the Relationship between Interdisciplinary Collaboration and Participation of Students with Disabilities in Secondary Career and Technical Education

Emery, Crystal Kay ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Utah State Univers 2022 해외박사(DDOD)

Students with disabilities have been shown to be less ready for college and career when they leave high school than students without disabilities. Secondary transition is the process of a student with disabilities moving from school to post-school settings. Research has shown that participation in career and technical education (CTE) while still in high school for improves the likelihood of meaningful employment after high school for students with disabilities. Research has also shown that collaboration between educators improves academic outcomes for students. Special education (SPED) teachers have extensive training in supporting students with disabilities throughout the education process. Collaboration between SPED teachers and general education teachers (e.g. CTE teachers) may have play an important role in preparing students with disabilities for future educational and vocational experiences.The purpose of this research was to explore the CTE course-taking patterns of students with disabilities and compare them with factors of collaboration between different educational professionals. The author sought to identify factors of collaboration that may support the participation of students with disabilities in CTE in high school. Additionally, this study explored the barriers to collaboration and the collaborative practices most commonly experienced by educators in Utah. This study demonstrated that the practice of co-teaching, the existence of a formal multidisciplinary transition team, and high levels of attendance by education professionals in student IEP meetings were related to higher levels of participation in CTE for students with disabilities. This study also demonstrated that different education professionals experienced collaboration differently and may need different instruction in support to collaborate effectively.

The Ties That Bind: Identifying Connections That Facilitate Students' Successful Re-Entry to Higher Education

Asay, Toni J ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Utah State Univers 2019 해외박사(DDOD)

The ubiquitous roadblocks to university graduation have been investigated, identified, and interrogated for 7 decades, yet the mystery of retaining students to graduation continues to elude even the most prestigious universities. This researcher's approach to increasing graduation began with the concession that increasingly, students may leave school at some point due to one or more of the retention issues that we recognize all too well---finances, illness, family problems, pregnancies, and other educational obstacles. However, leaving school does not mean that there is no going back. Student's dropout status changes when they re-enroll in school; they take on new identities as stop-out students who forge their own nontraditional path to graduation. This work explored the lived experiences of this often-overlooked subset of university students---students who begin courses in higher education but then forgo their studies for a time before returning. These students are known in the literature as stop-out students, a cohort seldom acknowledged, studied, or desegregated from dropout statistics. An online survey was used to determine the demographics of the stop-out participants, and face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were then conducted to allow students to relate their experiences, in and out of school, in their own voices. Of particular interest was the effect of students' perceived connections to faculty, staff, and/or administration as an influence in their decisions to return to school. The study was analyzed through the lens of care theory as a way to investigate how students' persistence was affected by feelings of connection or caring. Only one of twelve interviewees had formed a relationship with a professor before he left school, and this relationship was maintained during his absence and renewed when he returned. The other interviewees acknowledged that they felt no specific connections to any person, office, or administration when they left. The stop-out population is one that higher education needs to acknowledge and support with targeted services. In many cases, they are only a few semesters from graduation. Rather than blocking their way when they run for the hills, we should be lighting their path back to success.

Public Transportation Accessibility: Perceptions of Riders with Disabilities in Utah

Alldredge, Cherissa R ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Utah State Univers 2019 해외박사(DDOD)

Transportation plays an essential role in social inclusion and participation, subjective well-being, and overall quality of life. A lack of private transportation options may make individuals with disabilities more dependent on public transportation systems. Despite increased use, people with disabilities continue to report barriers accessing public transportation services. Interestingly, little is known about these barriers at the regional transportation district level. The purpose of this study was to better understand the barriers and perceived accessibility of the Utah Transit Authority's (UTA) public transportation system for individuals with disabilities living within the UTA service area.Using an online survey, data were collected from 327 individuals with disabilities, family members of individuals with disabilities, or others who work with individuals with disabilities. This study found that individuals with disabilities generally have neutral to somewhat positive (accessible) views of UTA's transportation services though there are differences based on disability type, modes of services used in general and specifically regarding fixed route service modes, and frequency of ridership are considered.

Rural Aging: The Geographic Reach of Service Access in Utah, Identifying Barriers and Solutions

Schiwal, Alexandra T ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Utah State Univers 2019 해외박사(DDOD)

Utah elementary school principals preparation as technology leaders

Esplin, Nathan L ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Utah State Univers 2017 해외박사(DDOD)

The rapidly expanding use of technology in education has brought about the need for principals to be prepared as technology leaders. Although, there is a need for principals to be prepared as technology leaders, many currently are not prepared for this role. It is crucial that principals are prepared in order ability to lead their school in successful technology integration. The primary purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the perceived level of technology leadership preparation of Utah elementary principals using the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Standards for Administrators. In addition to the study's primary purpose, the study identified the types and quantity of professional development principals are receiving and how this professional development relates to the principals' levels of technology leadership. In addition, this study concluded whether or not the perceived technology leadership preparedness level of Utah principals correlates with the number of hours spent in technology leadership training. Furthermore, the study compared differences in technology leadership preparation levels based on principal characteristics. Literature shows that technology leadership research is scarce. The findings from this study will help fulfill some of the need for additional technology leadership research. In addition, the findings can help educators have a better understanding of how to prepare principals to be effective technology leaders. The data for this study were collected from 129 Utah elementary school principals using the 2009 Principals Technology Leadership Assessment (PTLA). This survey used the 2009 ISTE Standards for Administrators as the framework. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, t test, ANOVA, and qualitative coding. The findings provide evidence that Utah elementary school principals are not adequately prepared to lead as technology leaders. Furthermore, a technology leadership professional development model has been designed to further assist educators.