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Perspectives, Perceptions and Experiences of University Students on the Autism Spectrum
Full text linkThe purpose of this study was to explore the perspectives, perceptions, and experiences of university students on the autism spectrum relevant to their academic success or barriers in higher education which might answer questions regarding their graduation rates. Statistics show high school students on the spectrum are registering for college; however, further statistics indicate that the graduation rate for this student population is lower than that of their neurotypical peers. To investigate through a qualitative study the researcher conducted a one-on-one interview session with university students on the autism spectrum to understand the perceptions, perspectives and lived experiences of this student population in post-secondary education. Data was collected through responses from structured interviews of eight student participants consisting of both males and females with self-reported ethnicities. Through this study, the researcher was able to listen to the voices of the students as they discussed their experiences, positive and negative in their learning environment, their perceptions and perspectives of faculty understanding of the autism spectrum, the students definition of success, and the efforts they displayed towards earning their degree by taking steps to utilize campus resources such as accommodations, academic coaching, academic tutoring, and how through the College Connections Program they learned appropriate social skills, all of which demonstrate they seem to have the capacity to earn a degree. Of note was participants' opinion of how faculty understand the autism spectrum, and how important it is to students with autism to have a positive and supportive interpersonal relation with their faculty
UHCL Library Annual Report - 2024-2025
Full text linkAnnual Report containing library updates, activities, and statistics for 2024-2025
The Road to Hell is Paved with Inquisitions: The Heretic Women of the Languedoc
No full textThis thesis, through the extensive examination of inquisition records ranging from 1318 until 1323, case studies on personal testimonies, and network analysis, argues that the medieval Catholic Church understood that women who believed in heretical doctrine were a danger to the authority of the Church. These examinations have provided insight into the mindset of Jacques Fournier. He understood that any woman who held heretical beliefs was a danger to the authority and stability of the Catholic Church as well as a substantial threat to a true and pure Christian society. The woman who spoke about and advocated for heretical sects and heretical doctrine presented a challenge to the authority of the theologians and religious leaders of the Catholic Church. With the connections between women, a single woman who chose to subscribe to the beliefs and doctrine of a heretical sect can infect women from village to village throughout the Languedoc. A single story or rumor mentioned by a woman in Montaillou could spread dozens of kilometers to the villages of Toulouse, Marseilles, and Montpellier. Women and mothers were the ones who taught the next generation how to worship the one true God and what should be viewed as being holy in comparison to evil. If heretical women were to be allowed to continue in their beliefs, then a generation of children would not have the ability to live in the light of Christ but rather in the shadows of the devil
College Students' Perception of Substance Use Disorders: The Role of Experience and College Major
No full textSubstance use disorders (SUDs) involve substance use that causes significant impairment across different symptom domains. Negative beliefs about individuals with SUDs are pervasive, which can impact individuals with SUDs in many aspects of their lives, such as seeking treatment. This study examined whether there are differences in attitudes toward those with SUDs among college students with and without personal experiences with SUDs and in particular college majors. Students with personal experiences with SUDs were expected to have fewer negative attitudes than those without personal experiences, and students win majors likely to interact with individuals with SUDs in their career were expected to hold fewer negative attitudes than those unlikely to interact with individuals with SUDs. Two hundred eighty university students completed an online survey measuring attitudes towards individuals with SUDs and demographics, including personal experience with SUDs and college major. Few significant differences were found, with more differences in attitudes based on personal experience than college major. These findings provide support for previous research suggesting that personal experience may play a role in reducing stigma. Further research is needed to explore how these differences can inform efforts to reduce stigma in individuals without personal experience with SUDs
An Evaluation of Experiences and Perceptions on How Restorative Practice Strategies Impact the Execution of School Discipline in a Title I Urban School: A Case Study
Full text linkThe purpose of this study was to explore administrators' and teachers' experiences and perceptions of how restorative practice strategies impact the execution of school discipline in a Title I urban school. This study included a review of data collected from interviews with middle school administrators and teachers in a Title I district. A purposeful same of 4 administrators and 11 teachers working in a Title I middle school were interviewed. The interviews provided an in-depth understanding of the interviewees' experiences and perceptions regarding the efficacy of utilizing restorative practice strategies at their campus. The findings of this study showed that the interviewees perceived that the implementation and teacher use of restorative practice strategies could be successful if there was teacher buy-in, fidelity in using the strategies, and a transparent and concise disciplinary process at the campus
Leptons in Hot and Dense Media
Full text linkThis thesis presents a comprehensive analysis of lepton magnetic properties in extreme astrophysical environments, with particular focus on the effects of finite temperature, chemical potential, and strong magnetic fields characteristic of neutron stars. Employing a modified Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) framework developed by Masood et al., which incorporates statistical corrections through the Masood abc-functions, we calculate self-mass corrections and radiative effects on the magnetic moment and anomalous magnetic moment of both charged and neutral leptons.
Charged leptons—electrons, muons, and tauons—are examined across a wide range of thermal and magnetic regimes. Results show that electron magnetic moments are highly sensitive to temperature, while heavier leptons respond more strongly to increasing magnetic field strength. Neutrino magnetic moment corrections, although absent at tree level, are explored through vertex corrections in finite-temperature and density (FTD) theories in QED.
Numerical results demonstrate the intricate interplay between environmental variables and leptonic quantum corrections, providing insights into how these particles contribute to neutron star thermodynamics, transport phenomena, and magnetic evolution. This study highlights the necessity of medium-dependent QED corrections for accurate modeling of leptonic behavior in compact astrophysical objects
"I Don't Feel Like I'm Some Kind of Radical": Dialogue, Discourse, and Discussion in the Era of SB 3
Full text linkDialogue, discourse, and discussion remain some of the most influential classroom instructional strategies that social studies teachers can utilize, but the discussion of potentially controversial issues can make the decision to incorporate them difficult. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to analyze the use of these strategies in the high school social studies classroom and to additionally explore whether or not the passage in 2021 of Texas Senate Bill 3 has impacted teachers’ classroom practices. Thirty-one teachers primarily from a large suburban public school district in Southeast Texas completed a survey to provide the quantitative data for this study, while eight of those teachers also participated in semi-structured interviews that provided the study’s qualitative data. Results from the survey – which contained the Social and Economic Conservatism Scale (SECS) and three questions from the 2016 edition of the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) – found no statistically significant relationship between a teacher’s political affiliation and their openness to engage in discussion but did determine that teachers feel that supporting their students’ critical and independent thinking should be the chief aim of civic education. Analysis of the interviews found that Senate Bill 3 was part of a larger sociopolitical context and that even with teachers either distancing themselves from it or choosing to defy it (and sometimes both of those things at the same time), the law was still causing a chilling effect on the use of discussion in the classroom. When asked for the practical considerations of using dialogue in the classroom, the teachers interviewed focused on difficulties getting students engaged, the importance of developing the skills necessary to lead discussion as well as setting limits for safely doing so in the classroom, and the myriad of benefits that discussion can bring. Additional research is needed to further explore how teachers can successfully and safely implement dialogue, discourse, and discussion more often and more fully into their classrooms
Comparing eDNA Metabarcoding and Standardized Electroshocking to Assess Fish Assemblages in Texas Rivers and Streams
Full text linkLong-term and large spatial-scale studies on fish distribution and community assemblage are important in understanding the health of aquatic systems. Traditional methods for monitoring fish in riverine environments (e.g., electrofishing) are widely accepted. However, they are time and resource consuming, require skilled taxonomists, and can underrepresent the diversity and the presence of rare and cryptic species. Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding has emerged as a rapid and non-invasive tool for inventorying fish communities in diverse freshwater systems. I sought to evaluate the efficacy and limitations of eDNA metabarcoding in the diverse river systems of Texas. A total of 38 sites were sampled in the summer (May-September) of 2023 using paired electroshocking and eDNA metabarcoding sampling. Two types of eDNA samples were collected: a 1L grab sample at the centroid of the flow (FIL) and a composite sample of eleven 100mL aliquots collected near alternating banks at evenly spaced transects throughout the survey reach (COM). Metabarcoding of eDNA using the 12S and 16S mitochondrial genes was completed for each sample. Among the analyzed sites, a total of 120 species of fish were detected throughout the study; 91 species detected using eDNA and 90 species detected using electrofishing. A total of 61 species of fish (51%) were detected with both methods, 30 species were detected with eDNA only (25%), and 29 species were detected with electrofishing only (24%). I failed to detect a significant difference in the number of fish species detected between the two eDNA collection methods (FIL and COM). While using two primers in studies is not always possible due to funding constraints, the fish community was found to be significantly different between the 12S and 16S eDNA primers used. This study found the use of eDNA to not be as effective in larger rivers, and depending on the specific goals of a study, a combination of both eDNA and traditional methods such as electrofishing can provide the most robust representation of the fish species present within a waterbody
The Effects of Technology Dependence on Emotion Regulation and Ostracism
Full text linkAs digital connectivity becomes increasingly embedded in daily life, psychologists have begun to examine the emotional and neural consequences of technology dependence. This two-part study explores the psychological and neural effects of technology dependence, with a specific focus on online social exclusion and emotion regulation. Study 1 examined how exclusion in a simulated social media environment affected participants’ psychological needs. Results showed that excluded individuals reported significantly lower levels of belonging, self-esteem, and meaningful existence, although technology dependence did not significantly moderate these outcomes. Study 2 explored how participants regulated emotions when viewing high-arousal images using strategies such as distraction, reappraisal, and suppression. Participants reported greater emotional relief and higher success when using distraction and reappraisal compared to no strategy. EEG data revealed that these strategies influenced frontal brain asymmetry, and that patterns varied based on participants’ level of technology dependence. Notably, individuals with higher technology dependence showed increased right-frontal activation which typically associated with emotional withdrawal and negative affect, especially during distraction and suppression. These findings suggest that while technology dependence may not strongly affect self-reported emotional responses, it may subtly alter the brain’s approach to regulating emotion. By combining behavioral and EEG methods, this research offers a deeper understanding of how excessive technology use can shape emotional experiences and neural functioning
The Effect of Passive Social Media Use on Prospective Memory
Full text linkAs of 2024, roughly 91% of Americans reported owning a smartphone, with 41% claiming to be online “almost constantly”. Moreover, over a third of U.S. adults use Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and/or YouTube. With the type of content people are exposed to on these social media platforms, passive scrolling habits can ensue, potentially leading to detriments to our attention span and memory. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between passive social media use and memory. This study implemented a between-subjects experimental design, where participants (n = 48) either worked on a Sudoku puzzle or scrolled on one of four social media websites: TikTok FYP, Snapchat Spotlight, Instagram Reels, or Facebook Reels. Participants were tested on how well they remembered answers to trivia questions and three intention tasks. The participants also completed an online survey that assessed their social media habits and everyday memory failures. The results from the study showed a significant difference between the groups for the number of trivia questions’ answers accurately remembered, with the social media condition performing better than the Sudoku condition. For the completion of the intention tasks, there was no significant difference found between the groups. This result indicates that passive social media use did not significantly affect prospective memory in the current study. Additionally, no correlation was found between passive social media use and memory failures. Implications of the results, possible limitations of the study, and thoughts for future research directions are discussed