Middle Tennessee State University
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A Mixed Methods Approach Exploring Teacher Emotional Labor and Burnout among Middle School Teachers
No full textWhile it is well understood that teachers are leaving the profession, what is less discussed is the why behind teachers choosing to leave. In 2023, 44% of teachers surveyed said they were likely or very likely to leave their job within the next two years. By 2025, unfilled teaching positions are expected to approach 200,000 (Mielke, 2023). This mixed methods study focused on the emotional labor of teaching and its influence on middle school teacher burnout. Research question 1 encompassed the perspectives of middle school teachers who have considered leaving teaching. From the qualitative data, seven themes emerged including: 1) Striving to Thrive with Healthy Balance, 2) Value System of Student-Centered Care, 3) Not Enough to Go Around, 4) A Tired Teacher, 5) Safe Spaces Impact Work Perseverance, 6) Administration Sets the Tone, and 7) Bottling Up or Spewing Out. Research question 2 included whether emotional labor, as measured by surface acting (SA), deep acting (DA), and naturally-felt emotions (NFE), was a predictor of middle school teacher burnout. The null hypothesis was rejected, as emotional labor was found to be a predictor of middle school teacher burnout. Surface Acting was associated with the emotional exhaustion and depersonalization of middle school teachers when combined with Deep Acting and Naturally-Felt Emotions. Additionally, Mental Distance and emotional labor (SA, DA, and NFE collectively) were found to be correlated with Surface Acting being statistically significant. Emotional Impairment showed a positive correlation between emotional labor (SA, DA, and NFE collectively) with Deep Acting found to be statistically significant. The findings do support the impact of emotional labor on factors of burnout as core burnout components are exhaustion and mental distance.Ed.D
Synthesis and study of the dyeing properties of aurones and development of a visible light-mediated polyene cyclization methodology
No full textAurones are primarily responsible for pigmentation, imparting yellow and orange hues to flowers and fruits. Despite their proven coloring role in nature, other applications of their pigmentation and photophysical properties have been limited and focused almost entirely on their fluorescent properties. To address this gap, two different color-related projects were explored in this dissertation.
In one project, different dimethyl amino- and ferrocene-appended hydroxy and methoxy substituted aurone derivatives were screened for their dyeing potential using an environmentally sustainable deep eutectic solvent of choline chloride and urea (chapter II). Considering various factors, including solubility, accessibility of the aurones, and their color-imparting ability to different fabrics, only four hydroxy derivatives of dimethylamino-aurones 22-25 were selected for further study. Their dye exhaustion ability, color fastness, color strength, and fixation property on wool fabric were studied. Among the four aurones, 6-OH-DMAA (22) showed the highest dye exhaustion, whereas 6,7-diOH-DMAA (25) dyed wool showed the lowest value.
In qualitative grey-scale tests, all four aurones showed excellent color fastness against rub, wash, and light exposure, revealing their promising dyeing ability. The color strength (K/S) were calculated using the reflectance values of the dyed fabrics. Fabrics dyed with aurone 22 exhibited high reflectance overall, showing low K/S value for all four tests. Aurones 23 and 25 dyed fabrics showed comparable K/S against rub, wash, and light tests. Wool fabric dyed with 24 (4,6-diOH-DMAA) showed consistently high K/S for the tests.
The other study sought to employ the aurone scaffold as a versatile organic photocatalyst, looking initially at polyene cyclizations (chapter III). Polyene cyclizations allow easy excess to complex polycyclic molecules from acyclic precursors through stereo-controlled multiple C-C bond formation. While this transformation has been used frequently over the years, existing strategies largely demand the use of expensive and toxic transition metal complexes to accomplish the desired reaction. In a highly unusual result, it was discovered that the use of a blue LED enabled a completely catalyst-free cascade cyclization of geranyl phenols containing bromo- and chloro- groups at different positions of the phenolic ring. The desired cyclization products were obtained with high stereoselectivity in the hexafluoro-2-propanol reaction medium. This reaction condition is the simplest option yet reported and has potential for future extension to additional catalyst-free photochemical transformations.Ph.D
3-Linkage on the Projective Plane
No full textThis thesis will provide some brief background information in the fields of Graph Theory and Algebraic Topology, a short history of linkage problems, and then a new result for 3-linked graphs embedded in the projected plane. First we will prove some Algebraic Topology results, importantly that a punctured projective plane is homoemorphic to an open m\"{o}bius band. Then in the Graph Theory section, we will provide a proof of Menger's Theorem. Next, we will discuss the results near to that of this thesis, including the 2-linkage theorem and an extremal function of -linkage. Finally, we will describe one structure which ensures three-linkage on the projected plane. Three-linkage is defined as follows: a graph is three-linked if for any three pairs , , of vertices in , there exist vertex disjoint paths such that for , links to . In this paper we will provide a classification of 5 conected graphs embedded in the projected plane with face-width at least 5. Namely, we will prove that if is a 5-connected graph embedded in the projective plane with face width at least 5, then is three-linked if and only if has has a specific structure.M.S
RC You Later: Development of a Remote-Controlled Hovercraft with First-Person View Capabilities
No full textThis paper follows the journey of the user interface subsystem for a remote-controlled hovercraft with first-person view capabilities. The interface includes a controller, goggles, and micro-camera. I established the subsystem within senior design and individually progressed the subsystem with the inclusion of a head tracker to provide a new operator experience. The head tracker allows the user to maneuver the camera through natural head movements on the pitch and yaw axis. Head tracking is a relatively new technology that introduces new means of control. The application of such technology is endless, from assistive technology to gaming or to the battlefield.
The project’s purpose is to apply the skills and knowledge I have learned to design and create a complex component of a mechatronic system while exploring the application of technology. The design, testing and analysis, and lessons learned are discussed to describe the growth of the project as well as myself
Black Labor vs White Wealth in Collegiate Basketball
No full textAbstract
The purpose of this ethnographic study is to explore the landscape of college basketball from a former player’s perspective and to focus on labor and wealth in the sport. As history appears to repeat itself, my intent is to show readers this type of ideology has been around for over 400 years. Race has always been a present feature in American society, as we are structured in race hierarchy from white to dark—beginning when the first slave arrived in this country. This hierarchy story has been passed down from generation to generation in the African American community as it took passage during the beginning of slavery. As a young Black kid growing up in the south, I could identify how members of my community would both see and learn this hierarchy rather quickly. This was especially true during the 1970s when I was a kid.
Reflecting on these truisms, one of the things I find most frustrating about us as African American athletes is how as a collective whole, we often underestimate our abilities and talents. We must learn to understand that we are more than just figures that can run and jump for sports. As we are doing most of the labor in college-run programs that produce revenue in the billions; we constantly see a distinction between labor and wealth as it pertains to those who are making the decisions and money. Based on my findings and experience, revenue continues to soar year after year. With so much money that is earned through college basketball, there should be no excuses for former players like me not to graduate with a meaningful degree and seek employment from the very system that is profiting from Black talent. Yet many college players do not graduate with meaningful degrees or, if they do graduate, the education behind that degree is lacking because of the culture that still exists between sports, the people in charge, and the African American athletes who are the force behind the profits.
Puzzling over this conundrum led me to develop the guiding question for this study: Why do African American male basketball players continue to lag in getting a quality education and professional positions within college athletics? We keep hearing it is going to getting better; however, that rhetoric is often used as a cover-up because the issues are the same from when I played college basketball over 30 years ago.M.L.A
A STUDY IN THE SOURCES OF B. TRAVEN’S POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY AND POLITICAL ECONOMY IN THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE
No full textThis study presents a revisionist reading of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre by “B. Traven,” the pseudonymous 1927 German novel published in English in 1935. Contrary to the scholarly perspective uniformly evident in previous criticism, in which Sierra Madre is presented as evincing the unknown author’s implicit Marxist/collectivist political and economic ideology, the dissertation posits that the book endorses the American versions of Libertarian democracy and free-market capitalism. The dissertation argues that the actions of, and dialogue between, the central characters―especially as embedded in the novel’s elaborately-developed internal narratives― parallel and suggest the author’s familiarity with key tenets of Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan (1651), the second of John Locke’s Two Treatises of Government (1689), and Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations (1776). Chapter One explores how past and contemporary Traven scholars have invariably approached the entire body of Traven’s fiction―including Sierra Madre―with political preconceptions that identify the major elements of those works as condemnations of such negative human impulses as greed, unbridled selfishness, and lust for money, gold, and material goods. Using extant Traven scholarship, the study demonstrates how free-market capitalism is often reflexively condemned in these same pejorative terms, despite its origin in Enlightenment principles such as social and religious freedom and individual liberty― the tradition of Classical Liberalism―derived largely from these three epochal texts. Drawing on both older scholarship and the recent work of Thomas Pangle and Timothy Burns as well as that of Jeffrey Collins, Chapter Two discusses how historians of ideas have drawn lines of influence from Hobbes through Locke to Smith and considers the documented dissemination of the ideas of these three philosophers in Germany during the (likely) years of Traven’s youth. Following the overview provided in Chapter Three of the principles that most distinguish the systems proposed by each of these three philosophers, Chapter Four examines passages from America’s founding documents and examples from early American case law and legal commentary suggesting that the precepts advanced therein similarly appear to have been derived from Hobbes and Locke, cognizant of Smith, and woven into the country’s framework in ways that fundamentally shaped American representative government and laissez faire economic policy. Chapter Five documents both verbal and substantive parallels in Sierra Madre consistent with Hobbes’, Locke’s, and Smith’s related views of civil governance and economics. Chapter Six examines in detail two of Sierra Madre’s embedded metanarratives, and the connecting episode that appears in between them, as allegorical embodiments of key principles drawn from Hobbes, Locke, and Smith.Ph.D
Toward Eternity: An Artistic Exploration of Death and the Fear of Dying
No full textThere has always been a close relationship between art and mortality.
Explorations of death, the afterlife, and the mortal reality of the viewer have been
featured in famous works of art throughout much of history, and there is in fact a genre
just for this phenomenon: vanitas paintings. This project is a modern revision of the
common imagery and underlying meaning of vanitas paintings, using mirrors as canvases
for death-related images to further connect the audience to them— literally seeing
themselves inside of the art. In doing so, this exhibition has become a means of honoring
those who embraced death as an old friend when their time came and an exploration of
death anxiety and how deeply it permeates our society. In turn, this made space for
conversations about death, anxiety, funerary customs, and even religion
Emergency Life Support for Vulnerable Collections: A Collections Management Case Study on The Anderson Collection
No full textThis thesis presents a detailed case study on the Anderson Collection, a large collection of Indigenous artifacts gathered by amateur archaeologist. This collection, now under the care of the Tennessee Division of Archaeology (TDOA), offers a unique lens through which to explore issues of collections management, emergency intake, and the broader implications of amateur archaeological contributions. The research emphasizes the importance of adopting best practices in the curation and continued care of legacy collections, particularly those with complex backgrounds involving amateur archaeologists and Indigenous artifacts.
Through an interdisciplinary approach that includes heritage legislation, ethical considerations, and decolonization practices, this study provides a comprehensive analysis of the intersection between current changes in care practices for Native collections, issues with avocational archaeology, and professional standards. The narrative of the Anderson Collection is used to illustrate broader themes in collections management, highlighting the urgent need for policies that ensure the preservation, ethical treatment, and educational use of archaeological collections. By framing collections care in emergency medical terminology, the thesis underscores the critical and ongoing attention required to maintain the integrity and research potential of such collections.
The findings advocate for a collaborative approach that prioritizes Indigenous voices, includes community stakeholders, and aligns with modern movements towards decolonizing archaeology and cultural heritage management. The recommendations aim to enhance transparency, accountability, and inclusivity in the curation process, ultimately contributing to the field’s evolving understanding of ethical stewardship and public engagement with archaeological collections.M.A
Administrative Supports that Foster Collective Teacher Efficacy in a High-Poverty Middle School: An Instrumental Case Study on Teacher Perceptions
No full textTeachers in high-poverty middle schools need additional supports from administrators to build collective teacher efficacy. Supportive leadership is the driving force in leading collective teacher efficacy in high-poverty middle schools. A qualitative, instrumental case study was utilized to explore how teachers perceive administrative supports that foster collective teacher efficacy in the context of a high-poverty middle school. The study found supportive leadership as a critical indicator of building collective teacher efficacy in high-poverty middle schools, specifically the leader’s visibility as a primary support of collective teacher efficacy. Additionally, the study found supportive leadership as the driver of collective teacher efficacy with goal consensus, empowered teachers, embedded reflective practices, and cohesive teacher knowledge as interdependent factors that foster collective teacher efficacy. The study results found that additional research needs to be conducted on collective teacher efficacy, especially in the context of high-poverty middle schools, and the connection to student achievement.Ed.D
What in the Ratings is going on here?
No full textThe current research reviewed six research question to understand the difference between situational interview questions and behavioral interview questions. Archival data was used from a local law enforcement agency to answer these questions. Candidates were interviewed by a panel of three using a structure interview approach with a set list of questions. The interview questions consisted of two situational questions, six behavioral questions, one overall communication rating, and an initial question asking why someone wanted to be an law enforcement officer. It was found that behavioral question was rated higher than situational questions. It was also found that they were all correlated with the overall communication question. It was also found that rater did see situational and behavioral questions differently.M.A