Non-evidence-based practices (NEBPs) are interventions that have not been indicated by research to be effective in treating the core deficits of autism or the related behavioral challenges across developmental domains. Under the umbrella of NEBPs are the interventions for autism that are physically and/or emotionally harmful, as well as those that…

This qualitative critical ethnographic study aimed to investigate the role of health literacy access among adult Hispanic Americans and how it affects self-care attitudes. The goal of this qualitative critical ethnographic study design was to see if previous healthcare service experiences influenced Hispanic American adults' attitudes toward…

This dissertation explores the utilization of internet-connected devices to address the accessibility challenges associated with microscopy in the field of biology. Traditional microscopy devices are often costly, limiting their widespread adoption in laboratories. To overcome this barrier, we developed a cost-effective multi-well imaging device…

This qualitative study was conducted to learn about the lived experiences of Indigenous youth during the transition to emergency remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Eight students at two schools in the Western part of Robeson County, North Carolina, told their stories. Tribal Critical Race Theory was used in this study as a lens to…

Sexually transmitted diseases (STD) are preventable conditions for which treatment failure (specifically in gonorrhea) is becoming problematic. U.S. young adults (20-29 years) have high rates of STD incidence and prevention of these diseases, but reaching them to provide primary prevention educations is challenging due to low perceived…

Sensor systems are becoming pervasive in many domains, and are recently being generalized by the Internet of Things (IoT). This wide deployment, however, presents significant security issues. We develop security techniques for sensor systems and IoT, addressing all security management phases. Prior to deployment, the nodes need to be hardened. We…

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to explore the academic and social experiences of digital natives at Patrick Harrison High School (pseudonym) located in southern California. The research questions addressing the study were: (a) What are digital natives' academic and social experiences; (b) How does feeling understood…

The Internet, as a digital record of human discourse, provides an opportunity to directly analyze political communicative behavior. The rapid emergence of social online networks augurs a transformation in the quality and quantity of information people have to evaluate their political system. Digital formats instantiate new categories of actors and…

A "commons" is the conventional term that describes a widely accessible and shared resource, such as an ocean, open rangeland, a public park, or public portions of the Internet, which is difficult to exclude or limit use once naturally provided or humanly produced. Ruin of a commons can result when individuals use the resource recklessly…

In today's connected world, the reach of the Internet and collaborative social media tools have opened up new opportunities for individuals, regardless of their location, to share their knowledge, expertise, and creativity with others. These tools have also opened up opportunities for organizations to connect with new sources of innovation to…

With the increasing awareness of design and usability issues in regards to websites, in this case tribal college websites, there is an increasing desire to have a set of guidelines to assist in determining design and usability for academic websites. Though there is an overwhelming amount of information available to researchers in this subject area…

The current study examined over 3000 visual images on the homepages of 234 National University to determine how power relations are depicted. Using a hybrid methodology of grounded theory, critical discursive analysis, and facial prominence scoring, the work culminates in a theory: The (Im)Balanced Theory of College Identity Formation Online. The…

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to examine African American community college students' availability to technological resources and how that availability affects their success. In this study, technological resources include access to the internet, software, hardware, technology training, technology support, and community…

Through the case of one online disputant, Minerva, this study intended to see the possibilities of online communities as the public sphere. Minerva's postings and comments were analyzed using discourse analysis and ground theory. It was found that the online community did act as the public sphere at that time, such as setting agenda and developing…

Elementary actions online establish an individual's existence on the web and her/his orientation toward different issues. In this sense, actions truly define a user in spaces like online forums and communities and the aggregate of elementary actions shape the atmosphere of these online spaces. This observation, coupled with the unprecedented scale…