The way that people communicate has changed over the years. We live in a society where people are always 'connected' and have the ability to be reached virtually anywhere (Lazzari, 2018). This study used a qualitative method with a descriptive case study design to thoroughly examine the school-wide implementation of a technology program as an…

As critical approaches to Heritage Language (HL) instruction are increasingly more widespread, it is now more pertinent than ever to conduct research on Spanish linguistic variation that reveals systematicity and refutes hegemonic notions of 'incorrectness'. This variationist study examines the use and distribution of the Preterite and Imperfect…

Exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has critical health implications for developing fetuses and subsequently for infants and young children. Research has suggested that this ambient air pollutant can be found indoors in quantities that may be hazardous to human health. In low-income neighborhoods in New York City such as northern…

Students who graduate from high school not reading on grade level do not have the same post-secondary opportunities as students who read on grade level. Many researchers have found that struggling high school readers are not successful reading independently above the second-grade level; a significant percentage of high school students cannot read…

The Virginia Department of Corrections mandates that all offenders without a high school diploma or general equivalency diploma (GED) are required to be enrolled in GED programs offered in the prison system. However, these programs have shown varying rates of success. Supported by the constructivist theory, the purpose of this qualitative case…

The extant literature related to the study of technology deployed in higher education teaching environments focuses on the placement and use of technology in classrooms, and how effectively existing technology is used to deliver course content, complete assignments, and conduct assessment of student progress. While several studies have been…

Adaptive learning systems aim to emulate how skilled educators provide every student with the best possible learning experience. We investigate how these systems might be enriched by incorporating activities and indicators of social learning, which focus on the influences of learners' social context and interactions. This doctoral research aims to…

This dissertation offers a critical analysis of software practices within the university and the ways they contribute to a broader status quo of software use, development, and imagination. Through analyzing the history of software practices used in the production and circulation of student and scholarly writing, I argue that this overarching…

Background: Today's healthcare organizations face financial and educational challenges of sustaining electronic medical record (EMR) advancements and regulatory reporting mandates. One such mandate is providing EMR education in the Operating Room (OR) setting to support reporting compliance and patient safety. Local Problem: At a multi-state…

The academic achievement gap has been present in the United States since the start of public education. Different factors have been noted as key contributors to the achievement gap, including the lack of parent involvement. This study investigates the impact that parental involvement has on student achievement, with specific focus on how a parent…

Background: Chronic disease management constitutes a special challenge in the United States due to deficiencies in the healthcare system. Chronic disease self-management (CDSM) using technology and gaming principles is a promising way to overcome these challenges. Yet, there are few disease-specific apps to benefit the populations likely to…

With the increase in technology in all facets of our lives and work, there is an ever increasing set of expectations that people have regarding information availability, response time, and dependability. While expectations are affected by gender, age, experience, industry, and other factors, people have expectations of technology, and from…

Entity resolution (ER) is an O(n[superscript 2]) problem where n is the number of records to be processed. The pair-wise nature of ER makes it impractical to perform on large datasets without the use of a technique called blocking. In blocking the records are separated into groups (called blocks) in such a way the records most likely to match are…

Multilayer perceptron neural networks, Gaussian naive Bayes, and logistic regression classifiers were compared when used to make early predictions regarding one-year college student persistence. Two iterations of each model were built, utilizing a grid search process within 10-fold cross-validation in order to tune model parameters for optimal…

Through colonialism, external forces can alter and shift social structures and practices. It causes trans-generational, often normalized, invisible, and profound marginalization of the collective identities of local and indigenous populations. Decolonization is the resisting and undoing of colonial impacts. It's the process of reforming a…