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Does Student Interest in Rural or Underserved Practice Change Following Exposure to a Full Time Rural or Underserved Clinical Experience?
No full textAccess to healthcare in rural areas remains a significant challenge, with rural communities facing unique barriers such as limited healthcare providers, increased travel distances, and lower insurance coverage rates. Nevada exemplifies this issue, ranking 45th in the United States in access to physical therapy services, with particularly low provider availability in its rural regions. Research suggests that clinical education experiences in rural and underserved areas may encourage healthcare professionals to practice in these communities post-graduation. This study examined the relationship between clinical experiences in rural and underserved settings amongst University of Nevada, Las Vegas Physical Therapy (UNLVPT) students’ interest in practicing in these areas. A total of 145 students completed pre- and post-surveys assessing their satisfaction with their clinical experiences, perceived benefits and barriers of rural practice, and intent to work in rural or underserved settings after graduation. Results indicated a positive correlation between student satisfaction with their clinical experience and increased interest in practicing in these settings. However, there was no significant correlation between rural upbringing and intent to practice in rural areas. The primary barriers to rural employment included distance from family, isolation, and limited resources, while the most recognized benefit of rural practice was a strong connection to the community. Although clinical experiences appear to modestly influence students’ interest in rural or underserved practice, further research is needed to assess long-term career decisions. These findings highlight the potential of rural clinical education programs to address healthcare workforce shortages while emphasizing the need for additional incentives and support systems to encourage rural practice
The Impact of Psychosocial Factors on Occupational Therapy Doctoral Students’ Communication with Fieldwork Educators: A Retrospective Analysis
No full textThis capstone project investigates the impact of adverse psychosocial factors, such as depression, anxiety, and stress, on effective communication of occupational therapy doctoral (OTD) students with their fieldwork educators (FWEds) during level II fieldwork experiences at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Using a convergent parallel mixed methods design and retrospective analysis, the study integrates quantitative data from the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and qualitative data from the Fieldwork Experience Assessment Tool (FEAT) to explore how these factors affect communication and the management of the adverse psychosocial factors OTD students experience. This study involved 36 OTD students enrolled in the UNLV OTD program who completed the DASS-21 and FEAT assignments during their level II fieldwork experience. There were three collection points during their 12-week fieldwork experience: week one, midterm (week six), and final week (week 12). The findings of this study demonstrated that students with higher levels of symptom severity on the DASS-21 tended to report greater difficulty with communication with their FWEds; however, not all students with adverse psychosocial factors reported communication difficulties. Insights from this research aim to inform curriculum adjustments that address communication barriers, equipping students with the skills and support to navigate adverse psychosocial factors, improve communication, and optimize their fieldwork experiences. This project highlights the importance of addressing mental health and fostering communication to strengthen professional competence and adherence to occupational therapy (OT) standards
The Effectiveness of Occupational Therapy Objective Structured Clinical Exam & Student Self-Efficacy in Preparation for Fieldwork Rotation
No full textThis capstone project focuses on exploring the effectiveness of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Department of Occupational Therapy’s Objective Structured Clinical Exam (OSCE) on students’ perceived self-efficacy in preparation for and throughout fieldwork rotation. This retrospective study analyzed repeated measures of the New General Self-Efficacy (NGSE) Likert Scale collected from a sample of 49 occupational therapy students across five time points. Findings indicated a statistically significant increase in self-efficacy over time (p\u3c .001). These results suggest that the OSCE may play a meaningful role in enhancing students’ self-efficacy in their clinical hands-on skills, supporting its continued use in occupational therapy academics
Surviving Graduate School: A Three-Paper Exploration of Latinx Graduate Students’ Basic Needs
No full textAs the college student population is becoming more ethnically and racially diverse, the faculty population is not increasing at the same rate. Graduate education is critical in supporting the faculty pathway and is an understudied area in higher education literature. Graduate education is slowly becoming more diverse; however, Latinx students remain underrepresented (U.S. Department of Education, 2019). The existing literature on Latinx graduate students focuses on the academic experience, such as socialization (Amlink & Edwards, 2020; Ramirez, 2017), student experiences (Gildersleeve et al., 2011; Phelps-Ward, 2022; Ramirez, 2017), and social support (Bañuelos & Flores, 2021; Santa-Ramirez, 2022). There is minimal research on nonacademic factors that shape the graduate student experience. Prior research has highlighted the importance of meeting one’s basic needs (i.e., food, housing, and safety) for academic success (A. Martinez et al., 2018; Silva et al., 2017). We know little about how Latinx or graduate students experience basic needs. Given the importance of meeting one’s basic needs, this phenomenon is an important area of research.This three-paper dissertation broadly explored how Latinx graduate students experience basic needs. In the first paper, I conducted an integrative literature review on Latinx graduate student success from 2004 to 2024. I explored how research has studied Latinx graduate student success by examining the environmental barriers, the role of social support, psychological experiences, and tensions in the socialization process. Second, through written and oral testimonios with 16 Latinx doctoral students, I sought to understand how Latinx graduate students experience basic needs using Latinx Critical Race Theory. Findings suggest that Latinx graduate students experienced basic needs insecurity, which was exacerbated by institutional policies, practice, and the larger sociopolitical contexts. The third paper employed Community Cultural Wealth (Yosso, 2005) to understand how Latinx graduate students accessed resources to meet their basic needs. The findings from testimonios illuminated how Latinx graduate students employed survival strategies when their graduate assistantship stipends fell short, relying on government resources, institutional resources, and a strong community of peers to meet their needs. They also turned to Women of Color faculty, who used their social capital to connect students to additional resources and provided holistic support. Together, these separate and interrelated studies highlight the insufficient financial support from institutions that made it difficult for students to meet their nutritional needs, afford a safe place to live, and forced students into unsafe situations. I offer implications for research and practice and include tangible ways institutions can better support Latinx graduate students. With the collaborators, we illuminate the oppressive structures and put forth a call to action to make graduate education more equitable
Gender Biases: The Interaction Between Children and Voice Assistants
No full textNowadays, children can access and interact with voice assistants (VAs) easily since the machines are more available in the family context. However, there is a gap in understanding how children conceptualize VAs when interacting with the machine. Specifically, this study aimed to examine whether children understand VAs as inanimate. Additionally, the study also compared how children and adults rate the VAs’ level of warmth and competence and the way they associate AI voices with feminine or masculine faces. Another goal was to explore how children and adults match the gender and competence/warmth of the VA with facial masculinity and femininity. The study employs the Computer as Social Actors (CASA) paradigm, where participants interact with a VA with different gender and competence/warmth conditions, while also using a Wizard of Oz design to simulate an autonomous VA. The study was a between-subjects design with children from 7- to -10 years old (n = 34) and adults from 18- to -35 years old (n = 61). The results indicated that children and adults rated the VA high on both warmth and competence, which are theoretically distinct dimensions. Interestingly, there were age differences in how people understood the VA through drawing. Adults were more likely to draw and describe the VA with human-like characteristics and children were more likely to draw and focus on the mechanical characteristics. This finding will help us design more suitable and beneficial AI systems for children’s learning by tailoring voice assistant interactions that align with children’s developmental understanding of technology. By recognizing how children conceptualize VAs in terms of warmth, competence, and gender, developers can create voice assistants that foster more effective, engaging, and age-appropriate educational experiences for children
Planting Seeds, Changing Minds: A Narrative Analysis of Environmental Children’s Books
No full textChildren’s books are some of the earliest forms of entertainment and education a person will interact with in their lifetime. Simultaneously weaving a tale and teaching a lesson, children’s books, therefore, have the great potential to communicate important lessons and mindsets at young ages. Utilizing narrative theory (Fisher, 1984) and ecocriticism (Glotfelty, 1996), while also considering environmental ideologies and narrative components (Bloomfield, 2024), this study explores the functions of environmental children’s books and how they might communicate environmental messaging and encourage ecological thinking. Following a narrative analysis of 46 environmental children’s books, the results of this study indicate that there are three primary functions to environmental children’s books—pedagogy, representation, and identification—that work together to encourage young readers to behave and think ecologically. Significantly, environmental children’s books place a great emphasis on visual aids and illustrations—an essential component to this medium but missing from narrative theory—and foster ecological action, in both image and words
Undergraduate Student Experiences of Flow in Culturally Relevant and Contextual Digital Math Games
No full textStudents in co-requisite mathematics classes represent a diverse group of learners, with one thing in common: their previous math performance. This research investigates how playing culturally responsive educational games is associated with students\u27 learning and experience of flow. Quantitative analyses revealed no significant differences in flow scores across demographic groups. However, students with stronger STEM identities reported experiencing higher levels of flow, on average. Math self-efficacy was not significantly associated with flow experiences. ANOVA results indicated that flow was not significantly related to final course grades (F = 0.465, p = 0.707, η² = 0.008), suggesting that students’ self-reported flow experiences did not directly influence their academic performance. However, the number of game activities completed (dosage) had a statistically significant effect on course grades (F = 4.721, p = 0.031, ηp2 = 0.027), with students in the highest quartiles of assignment completion achieving higher scores than those in the lower quartiles. Qualitative findings reveal that students described their flow experiences through dimensions of difficulty, attention and engagement, goal attainment, emotional states, interest in content, and career relevance. These findings suggest that while flow may enhance engagement, course performance is more strongly linked to how students’ amount of engagement in the supplemental game activities. The study underscores the importance of designing learning experiences that support engagement in co-requisite STEM education
School Leadership’s Impact on Teacher Turnover Post Covid-19
No full textThis qualitative dissertation involved investigating the pivotal role of school leadership in shaping teacher turnover and support in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was situated within the broader context of educational challenges, where teacher retention remains a critical concern. The pandemic introduced unprecedented disruptions to the education system, underscoring the need to understand how school leadership practices influence teacher retention and support in this new landscape. The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally transformed the teaching profession, impacting every aspect of educators’ careers as evidenced by responses across the structural, human resource, political, and symbolic frames. Structurally, educators had to rapidly adapt to new formats and safety protocols reflecting dramatic shifts in daily routines. On the human resources front, the emotional toll of the pandemic was significant; teachers described setting personal boundaries to prevent burnout. Politically, resource allocation and policy inconsistencies further complicated the work environment. Symbolically, the loss of physical interaction, such as hugs and high-fives, redefined teacher identity and the emotional climate of the classroom. Collectively, these themes highlight that effective leadership, characterized by consistent support, transparent communication, flexibility in decision-making, and genuine care is crucial for maintaining teacher satisfaction and retention during times of crisis. The interplay of these structural, emotional, political, and symbolic factors underscores the vital role leadership plays in ensuring that educators feel valued, secure, and empowered to continue their work, even under the most challenging circumstances
An Analysis of The Influence of Human Disease Pathogens on Core Behaviors of The Black-Legged Tick
No full textIxodes scapularis, the black-legged or deer tick, is a vector for several different disease-causing microbes, including the causative agent of Lyme disease. As such, it is a major health concern for people living within its range in the eastern half of the United States, a habitation area that is increasing due to climate change. Despite its medical relevance as a disease vector, there is still much to learn about the basic behavior of these arachnids in the wild. Thus, the major hypothesis of this thesis is that ticks that are infected with specific human disease-causing microbes behave differently than those that are free of those pathogens. If the hypothesis is correct, this information might be used to develop more effective ways to control or prevent bites from pathogen-infected animals. My thesis analyzed 143 wild-caught ticks from 3 counties in Western Pennsylvania. I tested each tick for its activity over 1 day, a response to a stimulatory puff of carbon dioxide, and their respiration over 4 hours. After the behavioral analyses were complete, the ticks were molecularly characterized to ascertain if any human disease pathogens were present. Although 44 ticks were infected with Borrelia burgdorferi (the pathogen that causes Lyme disease), 16 were infected with Anaplasma phagocytophilum (the pathogen that causes anaplasmosis), 12 were infected Babesia microti (the causative agent of babesiosis), 2 were infected with Borrelia miyamotoi (the pathogen that causes Borrelia miyamotoi disease), 1 was infected with virus that causes Powassan virus disease, 8 were co-infected with two pathogens, and 2 were co-infected with 3 pathogens, none of these ticks displayed behaviors that were significantly different from the wild-caught animals that were free from the above pathogens. The implications of this study are that the ticks infected with specific human pathogens do not grossly affect their overall behavior, perhaps because the microbe load of the pathogens is small in comparison to the overall microbiota of animals in the wild. It is interesting to note that there are some reports of infection with human disease pathogens affecting the behavior of lab-reared ticks, so increasing the number of animals to assay in order to determine if more subtle differences occur would be a goal of future research
Identifying Appropriate Clinical Cutoffs for Traumatic Dissociation in Maltreated Youth
No full textMaltreated youth who experience traumatic dissociation are at an increased risk for various severe psychopathological outcomes. Much is still unknown about the risk factors for traumatic dissociation in maltreated youth. The present study aimed to identify dissociation (e.g., dissociative amnesia, absorption and imaginative involvement, passive influence, and depersonalization and derealization) risk factors, via parametric statistical methods, in association with the appropriate clinical cutoff for the total and subscale scores from the Adolescent Dissociative Experiences Scale (A-DES). Investigatory variables included demographic (e.g., age, race, and gender), cognitive (e.g., resiliency and posttraumatic cognitions), and psychological (e.g., posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression symptom scores). Participants included 102 maltreated youths housed at an emergency shelter with the Department of Family Services. The first hypothesis was that variables identified in Mraz’s (2023) exploratory CART study (Table 3, p. 32) would differ significantly according to A-DES total and subscale score. Hypothesis 2 was that fewer demographic, psychological, and cognitive variables (Table 2, p. 31), as evaluated in Hypothesis 1, would emerge as significant differences for A-DES total and subscale scores for cutoffs 2, 6, and 8 compared to cutoff 4. Hypothesis 3 was exploratory in nature and involved the possibility that additional variables would be significantly different based on A-DES total and subscale cutoff scores. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and chi-square was utilized to evaluate the hypotheses. Hypotheses were partially supported. Total PTSD score, cluster D of PTSD (negative alterations in mood and cognitions), sense of mastery, and total anxiety score emerged as salient for across dissociative subtypes and total scores. Cutoff 4 was associated with the highest number of salient related factors for each subtype and total score except for depersonalization and derealization. Finally, additional factors including school involvement and mental health diagnosis, cognitive reappraisal, and expressive suppression were salient across the dissociative subtype and total scores. These findings provide evidence that further elucidates the understanding of dissociation in maltreated youth. Additional research is necessary to develop appropriate assessment and clinical interventions to treat dissociation in maltreated youth populations