Examining Extension Agents’ Adoption of Instructional and Communication Technologies: Training Development and Testing of a Digital Field Experience

Beattie, Peyton Nicole ProQuest Dissertations & Theses University of Flor 2021 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

Extension agents are non-formal educators located in counties and parishes across the United States. Agents develop educational programs for the citizens of the counties and parishes based on the specific needs of the community, and the content of the programs is rooted in research conducted at the state’s land grant universities. Over the past 50 years, Extension agents have reported a sense of feeling unprepared to adequately perform the communication components of their positions. A lack of confidence and training in communication could negatively impact an Extension agent’s abilities to perform their main job duties, which include linking research findings from the land-grant universities to people in local communities to advance livelihoods through Extension programs. Extension agents could use instructional and communication technologies (ICTs) to supplement traditional in-person programing, including developing online formats to reach new and more diverse audience groups. However, Extension agents require specialized training to be able to adequately communicate with clientele and to deliver Extension programs via ICTs.The purpose of the subsequent three-article dissertation was to address the lack of adoption and implementation of ICTs as tools for Extension agents to deliver educational programs for a 21st-century online adult audience. As such, the first article addressed the factors that led to or affected Extension agents’ ICT adoption, such as their level of innovativeness; self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and interest in using ICTs; the perceived attributes of adopting DFEs; the barriers to adopting ICTs; and how the COVID-19 pandemic affected their attitude toward adopting ICTs. The second article provided a detailed discussion of the development of the DFE as an approach to deliver educational programs via ICTs. The article was exploratory in nature and explained UF/IFAS Extension agents’ perceived experience developing and implementing a DFE for the first time. The third article discussed the training and development program created to build ICT adoption and usage capacity among UF/IFAS Extension agents necessary for them to design and implement a DFE. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the DFE training and development program using Kirkpatrick’s Four Levels of Training Evaluation.

Promises and Challenges: A Qualitative Case Study of a Social Justice-Oriented Professional Practice Doctoral (EdD) Program

Ma, Wei ProQuest Dissertations & Theses University of Flor 2021 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

Since demographics in the United States have changed rapidly over the past few decades, the need to support educators in social justice has become increasingly apparent (Borrero, Ziauddin, & Ahn, 2018, Porfilio & Malott, 2011). One critical mechanism for cultivating socially just practices for educators is to tackle educational inequity at the doctoral level: particularly the EdD degree. Situated in relevant literature, this qualitative case study sought to gain insight into a social justice-oriented professional practice doctoral (EdD) program to determine how such programs are envisioned, developed, and implemented. Specifically, this study explored three research questions: (1) What do the key EdD program components (mission, structure, content) that foreground social justice look like? (2) How does an EdD program that foregrounds social justice originate, evolve, and sustain a social justice focus? (3) What internal and external factors facilitate or hinder a social justice agenda in an EdD program that foregrounds social justice?The data collection process for this case involved (1) conducting 25 semi-structured interviews with faculty, students, and graduates; (2) gathering documents produced in and about the program; and (3) observing two program events and taking field notes. Data analysis revealed that individual faculty, program leadership, and coursework played a critical role in centering equity and social justice in an EdD program. Several other factors that facilitate or hinder the EdD program from enacting a social justice agenda were also revealed. While the facilitators included dedicated faculty, intentionally designed coursework, student community building, and the program’s affiliation with the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED), the hindrances included the program’s fast pace and large size, a third-party recruiter, vague focus, and online nature. Implications for EdD programs that strive to center equity and social justice, CPED, and future research conclude this dissertation.

Properties and Functions of NLPD2 in Burkholderia pseudomallei

Drew, Heather R ProQuest Dissertations & Theses University of Flor 2020 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

Burkholderia pseudomallei is the causative agent of melioidosis, an infectious disease endemic to tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. Challenges in effective therapy include the scarcity of antibiotics available for therapy due to the bacterium’s intrinsic drug resistance and the lack of information available about the nature of the mechanisms that govern B. pseudomallei’s antibiotic resistance. One of the most important contributors to antibiotic resistance is the protective cell envelope. The complex cell envelope of Gram-negative bacteria consists of a peptidoglycan layer, localized within a periplasmic space and bound between the inner membrane and the outer membrane. This multi-layer structure is essential for cell integrity, serving as a barrier to drug molecules and maintaining homeostasis of the bacterium. Antibiotics face difficulties in penetrating this envelope, representing a major obstacle for fighting antibiotic resistance and development of new therapies. Our lab has identified two novel lipoproteins in B. pseudomallei that may play an active role in the regulation and maintenance of its cellular envelope. Both nlpD1 and nlpD2 molecules contain a lipobox with a conserved cysteine and an alanine at the +2 position, indicating that they are lipoproteins that localize to the outer membrane. Similar to E. coli NlpD, the NlpD1 and NlpD2 proteins of B. pseudomallei contain a lysine motif (LysM) that is common in cell envelope-associated proteins and involved in peptidoglycan-binding activity and a degenerate LytM (dLytM) domain that is required for the protein’s cell wall hydrolytic amidase activating activity. Together this indicates that NlpD1 and NlpD2 are potential activators of periplasmic amidases involved in cleavage of the septal peptidoglycan during daughter cell separation. While outer membrane localization of NlpD1 was previously confirmed, the localization, the function and any redundancies that NlpD2 might have with NlpD1 was still unknown at the beginning of the studies presented in this dissertation.

Asynchronous Multi-Agent Optimization: Distributed Algorithms for Contested Environments

Hendrickson, Katherine ProQuest Dissertations & Theses University of Flor 2022 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

As available data grows and technical challenges become more complex, so do machine learning frameworks, mathematical models, and autonomous teams. These growing problem dimensions result in a need to distribute problem-solving across multi-agent teams where the computational burden on any one agent is minimized. Distribution, however, may introduce asynchrony - when agents perform computations at different times or are unable to share updates with one another at every point in time. Not only is synchronization difficult to implement, external factors may make it impossible. In contested environments, in particular, agents may be prevented from communicating with one another due to geography or even adversarial actions (such as jamming). Therefore, this dissertation develops optimization algorithms that are distributed and tolerant to asynchrony.In Chapter 1, the dissertation topic and motivation are introduced. Chapter 2 presents a totally asynchronous discrete-time algorithm for constrained convex optimization problems. A primal-dual approach is utilized in which all primal communications and updates occur totally asynchronously while dual computations are also allowed to occur asynchronously. Chapter 3 develops an asynchronous discrete-time algorithm that utilizes bounded delays rather than total asynchrony. This algorithm was developed for constrained convex optimization problems that do not meet all the assumptions of Chapter 2. In Chapter 4, results from Chapters 2 and 3 are expanded to constrained nonconvex optimization problems that satisfy a form of the Polyak-Lojasiewicz (PL) inequality. Chapter 5 shifts from discrete-time algorithms to a hybrid systems approach. We develop a distributed hybrid algorithm for solving unconstrained, and possibly nonconvex, optimization problems where agents perform updates in continuous time but only sporadically communicate with one another in discrete time. Finally, Chapter 6 summarizes and concludes the dissertation.

Effects of Dietary Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids on Rumen Biohydrogenation, Performance, and Reproduction in Dairy Cows

Sinedino, Leticia Del-Penho ProQuest Dissertations & Theses University of Flor 2017 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

The objectives of this dissertation were to determine resynchronization strategies to optimize fertility in dairy cows, and to investigate the effects of feeding polyunsaturated fatty acids on rumen biohydrogenation, nutrient flow and digestibil. Chapter 1 introduces current management strategies for enhancing reproductive performance, and nutraceutical approaches aiming to improve production and reproduction in dairy cows. Chapter 2 presents a literature review on the topics of establishment of pregnancy in cattle, pregnancy-associated glycoproteins, use of pregnancy-associated glycoproteins for indirect pregnancy diagnosis, fatty acids, metabolism of fatty acids. Chapter 3 evaluated the effects of early or late resynchronization based on different methods of pregnancy diagnosis on reproductive performance of dairy cows. The use of pregnancy-associated glycoproteins (PAG) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Chapter 4 describes the effects of supplementation of docosahexaenoic acid-enriched algae on reproduction and production performance in Holstein cows. Supplementation with algae resulted in increased concentrations of n-3 fatty acids in plasma p. Chapter 5 investigated the effects of feeding different types and sources of fatty acids on rumen unsaturated fatty acid biohydrogenation, fatty acid digestibility, and fatty acids profiles of plasma lipid fractions and milk fat in dairy cows. F. Chapter 6 evaluated the effects of supplementation with different types and sources of fatty acids on rumen fermentation, digestibility of nutrients, animal performance, and plasma hormones and metabolites. Dietary treatments did not affect milk. Chapter 7 presents general conclusions and future directions on the topics addressed in this dissertation.

Computational Method for Optimal Guidance and Control with Application to Low-Altitude Skid-To-Turn Vehicle

Dennis, Miriam Evelyn ProQuest Dissertations & Theses University of Flor 2020 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

Two concepts are addressed and combined in this dissertation: computational optimal guidance and control and air-to-surface trajectory optimization. First, a method is described for computational optimal guidance and control using adaptive Gaussian quadrature collocation and sparse nonlinear programming. The method employs adaptive Legendre-Gauss-Radau quadrature collocation using a mesh truncation and remapping procedure at the start of each guidance cycle, thereby retaining only the mesh points associated with the unexpired horizon. The method developed is demonstrated on two challenging aerospace optimal control problems. For both examples, the dynamics are simulated on each guidance cycle using a perturbed dynamic model in the absence and presence of a computation time delay.Second, the problem of air-to-surface trajectory optimization for a low-altitude skid-to-turn vehicle is considered. The performance of the vehicle is assessed under various conditions. The objective is to minimize the time required to steer the vehicle from an initial state to a ground target subject to constraints on altitude and crosstrack such that the vehicle moves at a constant low-altitude for as long as possible and performs a bunt maneuver (negative sensed-acceleration load) rapidly near the end of the trajectory to satisfy the terminal constraints. The vehicle is modeled as a point mass in motion overa flat Earth, using thrust magnitude, pitch angle, and sideslip angle as the controls. The trajectory optimization problem is posed as a two-phase optimal control problem. The key features of the optimal reference trajectories and controls are provided. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is performed to assess the accuracy of the solutions obtained to the true optimal solution.Combining the above concepts of computational optimal guidance and controland air-to-surface trajectory optimization, the performance of the previously developed computational method for optimal guidance and control and a linear quadratic follower are analyzed and compared using the low-altitude skid-to-turn vehicle model. The results of this study show the computational method for optimal guidance and control has the potential to improve performance over traditional methods when solving an optimal control problem in real time.

Nursing Students’ Acceptance of an Online Computer-Based Simulation System Utilizing the Technology Acceptance Model

Stephen, Anita M ProQuest Dissertations & Theses University of Flor 2021 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

The purpose of this mixed method triangulation study was to discover if external factors influence nursing students’ acceptance of online computer-based simulations using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). An online computer-based simulation software by Elsevier/Evolve called simulation learning system (SLS) for RN 2.0 was utilized for this study. Participants included 210 senior accelerated and junior traditional nursing students from a large southeastern university. Data was collected using an online survey tool (Qualtrics) with a 7-point Likert scale and three open-ended questions. A research-based path model was created, and data was analyzed in SPSS and AMOS. Constant Comparative Method (CCM) was utilized for the three open-ended questions. The results revealed statistically significant evidence that external factors of instruction (s = .75; p < .01) and support (s = .26; p < .05) influenced behavioral intention of undergraduate nursing students in using the SLS software. The study revealed instruction was more salient than support. Therefore, providing instruction and support in learning a new informational technology system can have successful implementation and cost- effective measures in simulation education. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has increased the use of online computer-based simulations. Online computer simulations in nursing education have burgeoned but the acceptance of these technological systems in nursing education is still sparse. In this research, the acceptance of the SLS software would be considered an investment to nursing students’ education. This study is instrumental for implementing a new informational technology software.

Institutional Leaders’ Perspectives on the Unintended Consequences of Performance-Based Funding

Mack, Erica ProQuest Dissertations & Theses University of Flor 2021 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

Performance-based funding has risen to popularity in higher education systems across America. Although the finance model has been touted as a useful approach to emphasize accountability, the performance-based funding model has led to both intended and unintended consequences. The vast amount of research on performance-based funding is quantitative and focuses on whether the model is effective. This research study explores how institutional leaders feel about the implementation of performance-based funding at the institutional level. This research study uses a case study approach to examine performance-based funding consequences. In this study, the research focuses on a state education system that has implemented performance-based funding at both four-year institutions and two-year institutions. The researcher examines both state and institutional documents to understand the state’s finance model. In addition, 18 college administrators provided feedback regarding their knowledge and expertise on the implementation of performance-based funding at the institutional level. Throughout the study, several reoccurring themes emerged including: (a) accountability, (b) politics, (c) unintended consequences (d) institutional policy changes, and (e) African American student enrollment. During the study, the institutional leaders discussed their concerns regarding the political nature of the PBF model. The college administrators explained how the implementation of PBF affected the institution’s view of accountability and changes to institutional policies. In addition, the college leaders also highlighted unintended consequences related to the state’s strategic focus on STEM degrees and the loss of funding due to PBF. The institutional leaders also provided feedback related to the PBF model implementation and its impact on African American student enrollment. The research will help one understand the higher education practitioner’s experience as other publicly funded higher education systems implement the performance-based funding model. Further, this study will provide insight into how institutional leaders address the implementation at their college or university.

Enhancing the Magnetic Anisotropy of Metal Ions via Ligand Field Design

Zhang, Jingwei ProQuest Dissertations & Theses University of Flor 2018 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

Synthesizing magnetic molecules with high magnetic anisotropy is one of the major goals in molecular magnetism. Magnetic anisotropy is especially important for synthesizing single-molecule magnets with high blocking temperatures, which is a key step towards next-generation information storage devices. The importance of single-ion anisotropy provides the motivation for the research in this dissertation. Our goal is to design highly anisotropic magnetic molecules by implementing ligand field theory, and trying to understand what factors control the magnetic anisotropy for some specific cases.In Chapter 1, we give an introduction on the current progress of magnetic anisotropy research. In Chapter 2, we analyze the magnetic anisotropy of some Mn(III) and V(III) complexes with basic ligand field theory. We show that when the first three states are 5Eg, 3T1g and 5T2g, the magnetic anisotropy of high-spin Mn(III) is highly related to the energy level of the dz2 orbital. The magnetic anisotropy of V(III) is sensitive to the type and magnitude of distortion, and different types of distortion can lead to different magnetic ground states. In Chapter 3, we describe the synthesis of a series of magnetic molecules with the 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO) ligand and Ni(II), Co(II), and Mn(II) ions. By implementing ligand field theory, we probe the factors causing the magnetic anisotropy in the Co(II) complex. Ni(II) and Co(II) complexes also show bifurcation behavior under low temperature FC-ZFC experiments, which indicates that a magnetic ordering phenomenon occurs. In Chapters 4 to 6, we describes the synthesis of a series of Dy(III) complexes using the trispyrazoylborate (Tp), 8-hydroxyquinoline (8-Hq), and 2-(2- benzimidazolyl)phenol (BP) ligands. The surrounding ligand field has a great influence on all these complexes. By eliminating or weakening the non-axial metal-ligand interactions, we gradually increase the magnetic anisotropy of the molecules. Some of the presented molecules show an anisotropy barrier of 101 to 102 cm–1 .Overall, we show that the anisotropy of magnetic ions is controllable by following certain design principles. This could prove an important step forward towards application of magnetic molecules in molecule-based memory devices in the future.

Practice and Pedagogy: ICT Usage in a Private Japanese University

Miller, Ross Eric ProQuest Dissertations & Theses University of Flor 2019 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.