Summit Institutional Repository @ PSU (Plymouth State University)
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411 research outputs found
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Neurodiversity and disability: an analysis of social movement framing in dialog between parents and autistic self-advocates
Get PDFNeurodiversity, the idea that people experience the world differently based on their neurological attributes, is emerging as an understanding of autism and other disabilities as well as the basis of a social movement. This is an idea not without controversy. Using disability studies as the conceptual anchor, this dissertation looks closely at an online dialog between two key stakeholders in the neurodiversity debate: parents of children with autism and autistic adult self-advocates. Using frame analysis as an analytic tool, it explores social movement frames and framing practices utilized in the dialog. Both the particular dimensions of autism/disability representations that emerged and the practices used by dialog participants to construct them have implications for educators, which are discussed.Electronic Thesis or Dissertatio
In principal we trust: a qualitative study exploring the lived experience of beginning Catholic school principals establishing trust with teachers
Get PDFBeginning principals are faced with many challenges when entering a new building; including learning the culture and identifying the needs of staff and students. It is the role of the principal to lead the school in change meant to improve outcomes for students. Establishing trusting relationships with teachers increases the likelihood that change will take hold. The purpose of this study was to highlight the experiences of three Catholic school principals who were successful in establishing trust to inform all beginning principals as they attempt to do the same. Findings indicate that Tschannen-Moran's (2004)five facets of trust: benevolence, reliability, openness, competence, and honesty were present for each principal. In addition, follow-through, shared and transparent decision-making and frequent and meaningful teacher contact (Chhuon, Gilkey, Gonzalez, Daly, & Chrispeels, 2007)were critical to establishing trust. Presence as a leadership characteristic was identified as a subject for future study.Electronic Thesis or Dissertatio
Using specific electrical conductance to characterize post-tropical cyclone Sandy's storm runoff in New Hampshire catchments
Get PDFOnly a fraction of precipitation enters lotic systems during a storm event. In order to understand the watershed controls on source water and first flush (FF) in catchments of varying land use, we used specific electrical conductance to trace storm response during the Post-Tropical Cyclone Sandy event in October 2012. These data came from a citizen science network called the Lotic Volunteer for Temperature, Electrical Conductance and Stage (LoVoTECS) which provided a unique opportunity to investigate the spatial variation at a broad spatial scale. Forty New Hampshire watersheds were analyzed during this event. The storm metrics analyzed in this study were: percent new water, presence of FF and magnitude and duration of FF. This research showed that new water was negatively correlated with the presence of lentic systems and was not significantly correlated with development. Results also suggest that soil organic matter, not development was the variable that was most closely related to the presence of FF.Electronic Thesis or Dissertatio
An examination of the actions and strategies principals use in establishing, fostering, and sustaining Supportive Relational Conditions (SRC) for professional learning communities in elementary schools
No full textThe purpose of this hermeneutic, phenomenological study was to investigate the strategies elementary principals use to develop trusting relationships that support a collaborative professional learning community (PLC) culture within their schools. Participants included six public elementary school principals purposefully selected from survey results for face to face interviews. The study was based on Hord and Tobia's (2012) six dimensions of PLCs and focused on the supportive relational conditions dimension as the bond holding the other dimensions together. Interview participants responded to questions regarding five attributes of supportive relational conditions including: Caring relationships; trust and respect; recognitions and celebrations; risk taking; and unified efforts to embed change. Training for PLCs was also a factor for discussion. The principals pointed to modeling behaviors, mutual trust, honesty, their presence and visibility, and extended time and patience for developing relationships as important factors in the sustainability of PLCs. Additionally, the principals' longevity at their schools emerged as a major influence in developing trusting relationships. Participants also concentrated on the use of student data as an integral component in staff members' efforts to embed change. The results offer information gleaned from the field about what has been identified as enabling PLC work with regards to supportive relationships. These results hold importance for school leaders, practicing and aspiring principals, and for institutions for school administrator certification to offer strategies and techniques for developing a positive school climate that allows for supportive relational conditions for professional learning communities.Electronic Thesis or Dissertatio
A diurnal wind event climatology of New Hampshire.
Get PDFA previous study of power outages in New Hampshire showed that strong wind events that led to major outages typically began during the overnight hours between 04 - 10 UTC (11 pm - 5 am EST). These wind events usually lasted for 36 or more hours. The diurnal climatology of winds has not been well documented in the literature with very little data published from New England. Therefore, this study attempts to document the diurnal wind climatology in New Hampshire. Five years (2007 - 2011) of hourly METAR data from four stations (Keene, Portsmouth, Concord, and Berlin) were used. In order to examine wind events, a definition of a high wind event was developed by examining the overall wind speed frequency at each station. In this study, a high wind event was any event in which the wind speed or gust exceeded the 90thpercentile value (10 knots and 20 knots respectively) for more than three consecutive observations (e.g. two hours). The results of the strong wind event climatology show that most high wind events begin in the afternoon (17 - 21 UTC, 12 pm - 4 pm EST), are from the northwest, are relatively short lived ( 24 hours) occur during the cold season and begin anytime during the day with nearly 40 - 50% of them beginning between 00 -12 UTC (7 pm - 7 am EST).Electronic Thesis or Dissertatio
The use of on-site health care services to reduce medical costs and the expense of employer-sponsored health benefits
Get PDFThis study evaluated whether providing an on-campus employee medical clinic at the University of New Hampshire Durham campus provided a low cost alternative to the price of health care services when compared to services offered by community providers such as hospitals and outpatient centers. The University of New Hampshire (UNH) Employee Clinic opened February 27th, 2012 as a three-year pilot project, with the goal of providing a cost effective alternative to higher-priced community-based health care services, as well as to provide a convenient service for employees. The study determined the UNH Employee Clinic did provide a low cost alternative to health care services provided by the community.Electronic Thesis or Dissertatio
A qualitative study exploring teachers' perceptions and ideas about how their international travel study experiences impact their classrooms
Get PDFThe purpose of this qualitative research study was to examine how educators perceive that international travel study experiential teacher learning impacts their educational practice and contributes to creating globalized classrooms. This study incorporated a qualitative research grounded theory approach whereby five educators were interviewed. Coding and analysis of the data ���transcribed stories ���led to the discovery and development of a Continuum of Seven Stages, which educators progressed through personally and professionally as a result of traveling internationally. In addition, A Blueprint for Globalizing the Classroom was created from the multiple pedagogical practices identified by teachers as being effective strategies for key student outcomes. The Continuum and the Blueprint can be used as valuable models to encourage educators to travel and globalize their classrooms.Electronic Thesis or Dissertatio
Walden III or cult: examining the organization and structure of life within contemporary intentional permaculture communities
Get PDFDespite decades of economic and medical improvements since the end of World War II, Americans report they are less satisfied with their lives and more unhappy than they were 20 to 30 years ago. Americans in general enjoy a high standard of living, but also report feeling more stressed than individuals living in Third World countries. The spread of this cultural malaise has coincided with American communities across the country reporting a precipitous drop in the level of civic engagement. This has occurred in tandem with the dawning realization that personal happiness and well-being does not correlate with increased income levels beyond the point of meeting basic needs. This research focused on three intentional permaculture communities and determined there were factors of community cohesiveness and commitment that could transfer back into mainstream communities to rejuvenate depleted levels of social capital and civic engagement. Part of the requirement of residency in intentional permaculture communities is the expectation residents contribute to the community and share their life with other residents while leading a sustainable lifestyle. Understanding the organization and structure of life within these communities is of use to mainstream communities as we, as a nation, move toward rebuilding mainstream community structure to enhance individual well-being, increase levels of civic engagement, and move our First World nation into becoming a responsible global partner.Electronic Thesis or Dissertatio
Biological rhythms of the American Horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus: variation, coordination, and effects of harvest practices
Get PDFAlong its North American range, the American horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus, is ecologically and commercially valuable, supporting both a bait fishery and a biomedical fishery. While multiple stakeholders depend on this species, population declines in certain regions suggest the need for improved region-specific management strategies for the four L. polyphemus subpopulations. Development of such strategies requires knowledge of both the behavioral features of animals of these subpopulations and the impacts of harvest processes, specifically the relatively unassessed impacts of the growing biomedical fishery, on individual animals. The expression of circatidal (~12.4 h) activity patterns in L. polyphemus along much of the Atlantic coast provides a metric through which to examine the 1) the influences of harvest practices, 2) population-level behavioral differences in biological rhythm expression, and 3) the behavioral and physiological outputs of biological oscillators.
Throughout New England and the Mid-Atlantic region, L. polyphemus is harvested by the bait industry and the biomedical industry, the latter of which extracts the hemolymph of these animals to produce Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL), a bacterial endotoxin detection assay. Population declines in heavily-harvested regions suggest deleterious effects of harvest practices on female horseshoe crabs, the primary target of harvesters. While harvest processes have an immediate (1-17 day post-harvest) mortality rate of 10-30%, sublethal effects of harvest processes have received little attention. Sublethal behavioral and physiological alterations elicited by LAL harvest processes were investigated in 28 female horseshoe crabs. Linear and angular velocity, total distance moved, percent of time active, and expression of circatidal behavioral rhythms were significantly reduced after LAL harvest processes. Recovery of pre-harvest behaviors occurred by the third week after the process. Hemocyanin levels were significantly reduced in the week after the bleeding process, and remained suppressed for the duration of the study (6 weeks). These previously unrecognized behavioral and physiological effects of the LAL harvest suggest that harvest processes may decrease fitness of females returned to the wild post-harvest and may contribute to population declines in regions of heavy biomedical harvest.
Along its geographic range, L. polyphemus experiences at least three different tidal regimes: two subpopulations experience semidiurnal (2 tides/day) tides, one subpopulation experiences mixed tides (one high tide larger than the other), and one subpopulation experiences a microtidal environment (very small or nonexistent tides). Behavioral rhythms of animals from these three separate environments were compared in three different experimental tide conditions: constant water depth, two tides per day (every 12.4 hours), and one tide per day (every 24.8 hours). Across the three tide conditions, L. polyphemus from mixed tide environments (n = 21) consistently expressed unimodal rhythms, while those from two tide/day environments (n = 28) generally expressed bimodal rhythms. In contrast, animals from the microtidal site (n = 7), while they expressed unimodal activity patterns in constant depth, expressed both bimodal and unimodal rhythms in response to twice and once daily tides, respectively. Activity rhythms in L. polyphemus thus appear to reflect the tides of their source environment, but adults from the microtidal environments exhibited plasticity in behavioral rhythm expression. While it is unclear whether these behavioral differences are driven by genetic differentiation among the subpopulations or by the tidal environments experienced by individuals in early development, the ability of all animals to express a 24.8 hour tidal cycle suggests that circalunidian oscillators may control behavior in L. polyphemus.
L. polyphemus from two tides/day environments express circatidal behavioral rhythms controlled by tidal clock(s). However, whether physiological functions, such as heart rate and respiration frequency, are similarly under control of tidal oscillator(s) is unknown. Rhythms of activity, heart rate, and respiration were recorded in freely moving (n = 12) and restrained L. polyphemus (n = 6) during periods of light/dark cycles, constant light, and tide cycles. Most (10/12) animals exhibited coordinated activity, heart rate, and respiration rhythms across the different conditions, though individual animals expressed tidal or daily rhythms in the three parameters. When restrained, most (4/6) animals continued to exhibit coordinated rhythms of heart rate and respiration, with daily rhythms (3/6) and tidal (1/6) rhythms of heart rate and respiration in individuals. In response to alterations in light and tide conditions, rhythms of activity, respiration, and heart rate responded in phase with one another. Cumulatively, these results suggest that the same tidal oscillators which govern activity rhythms also regulate rhythms of heart rate and respiration.Electronic Thesis or Dissertatio
But what's in it for them?: understanding the effects of participation in the Research Mentor Program from the mentor's perspective
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to identify and describe the experiences of the research mentors who participated in the UNHMResearch Mentor Program. The research question that guided this study was: What effect did participation in the Research Mentor Program have on the research mentors who participated. The researcher sought to understand this experience from the mentors' perspective to determine if the reciprocal learning environment created through peer dyads impacted knowledge and skills. The participant sample (six women and two men) was drawn from among the students who completed the Tutor Development course between fall 2004 and spring 2013 and served at least one semester as a research mentor. The literature review explored the extent of collaborative efforts between academic libraries and college writing centers, surveyed the role of students in academic library reference and instruction services, and examined the application of Vygotsky's sociocultural learning strategies in higher education classrooms and academic libraries. The qualitative data collection methods utilized included semistructured interviews, a survey adapted from the Survey Regarding Satisfaction, learning and Development of Peer Mentors in Higher Education (Posa, 2011), and document reviews of interview transcripts and Tutor Development course syllabi. Three effects of program participation were identified: 1) participants expressed uncertainty and self-doubt in their abilities to succeed initially as a research mentor; 2) participants acknowledged a perceived increase in learning and personal development; and 3)participants attributed increased learning and personal development to the reciprocal learning environment engendered in the peer-to-peer dyads. This study appeared to confirm that reciprocal learning environments were created through the peer-to-peer dyads established between the research mentors and tutees and through the Tutor Development course cohort relationships. Several recommendations for future studies were offered that could expand upon and enhance these conclusions to answer the question, ���But what's in it for them?� by affirming the value and benefit intrinsic to the role of the research mentor.Electronic Thesis or Dissertatio