Self-determination, as a vital topic for individuals with disabilities, has received a narrow investigation in Saudi Arabia and the Middle Eastern communities. Therefore, it is imperative to examine evidence-based practices to furnish insight into the efficacy of self-determination models not only through theoretical research methods but also via…

This dissertation consists of three chapters that contribute to the fields of macroeconomics, economic development, and entrepreneurship. In the first chapter, "Entrepreneurship Selection and Performance in the U.S. and Across Countries: The Role of Human Capital," I seek to establish a set of stylized facts related to entrepreneurship…

Hidden structure refers to the units of organization that a child cannot directly observe when they are learning language (e.g. phonemes, morpheme boundaries, URs, phrases). In this dissertation, I propose a novel computational model that learns hidden structures in-tandem with the grammar. My model consists of two Maximum Entropy sub-models that…

This research study has been designed to be an evergreen project to help higher education institutions define their external partnerships. The action research model has been used to create and test a model of external engagement, which was later redefined as the Reaney Model of External Engagement with the intent for continuous improvement.…

The research aimed to address the confusion and diverse interpretations surrounding the integration of faith with learning (IFL) in Christian higher education institutions. The study focused on the inception of the IFL movement by its founder, Frank Gaebelein. The research posited that while Gaebelein presented a foundational model for IFL, his…

Graph neural networks (GNN) are vital for analyzing real-world problems (e.g., network analysis, drug interaction, electronic design automation, e-commerce) that use graph models. However, efficient GNN acceleration faces with multiple challenges related to high and variable sparsity of input feature vectors, power-law degree distribution in the…

The study investigated the use of formalized cybersecurity apprenticeships as a means of workforce development to meet the needs of employers seeking to fill cybersecurity positions. The study employed a quantitative analysis using a constructivist grounded theory approach utilizing a survey with questions based on the findings of apprenticeships…

The purpose of this study was originally to create an operational definition of the "appearance of competence" to design valid questions for educational professionals supporting twice-exceptional (2e) learners to create a testing instrument. Through the methodological process of grounded theory, a replacement research question emerged as…

To build an Artificial Intelligence system that can assist us in daily lives, the ability to understand the world around us through visual input is essential. Prior studies train visual perception models by defining concept vocabularies and annotate data against the fixed vocabulary. It is hard to define a comprehensive set of everything, and thus…

The purpose of study was to examine how frontline employees make sense of a planned organizational change. The voices of frontline employees, the group of employees responsible for making the product or delivering the service, have frequently been ignored or neglected during planned change efforts. In this study, attention was focused on the…

This study seeks to identify Knowledge Communities (KC) in the field of International Education (IE). Kuhn's concept of research paradigms (2012), Crane's theory of scientific communities (1988), and Linkvist's theory of knowledge communities (2005) provide theoretical basis of this study. Using a novel, mixed methodology -- bibliometrics and…

Chronic stress and burnout associated with Division I athletics is common and specifically the profession of athletics academic advising at the Division I level has reputed to be, as Meyer (2005) states, "one of the most challenging jobs in higher education." Yet, the topic is under-explored. While roughly one thousand articles are being…

Cognitive diagnostic models (CDMs) provide pedagogically relevant information in the form of a student profile of multiple binary categorizations of students into mastery or nonmastery statuses on latent traits called attributes. Federal educational accountability requires accountability measures to designate students into one of at least three…

The demand for flexible online learning models, fueled by technological advancements and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has necessitated creative solutions to support millions of students enrolled in online programs. Higher Education leaders, faced with this growing demand and lacking expertise in online learning, have turned to outsourced…

The use of unidimensional scales that contain both positively and negatively worded items is common in both the educational and psychological fields. However, dimensionality investigations of these instruments often lead to a rejection of the theorized unidimensional model in favor of multidimensional structures, leaving researchers at odds for…