Background: Youth living with HIV have worse health outcomes compared to adults or children. Few interventions have been developed engaging youth in their care to promote resilience. Peer-led education is one potential way to boost confidence and bolster resilience while also improving HIV knowledge of youth living with HIV (YLHIV). Peer youth…

This paper presents the findings of a qualitative study designed to describe the experience of HIV medication adherence using a mobile phone application. For the purpose of this qualitative study, nine semi-structured focus group discussions were conducted over a three-month period at an AIDS service organization in Central Texas. The data were…

This dissertation investigated the feasibility of self-adapted testing (SAT) as a formative assessment tool with the focus on learning. Under two different orientation goals--to excel on a test (performance goal) or to learn from the test (learning goal)--I examined the effect of different scoring rules provided as interactive feedback, on test…

This Educational Leadership Portfolio (ELP) documents my exploratory study of the feasibility of developing a new associate level (A.A.S) degree program. While this study and plan is designed to serve as a guide for any two-year or community college thinking of developing such a program, many of the artifacts in this study are written specifically…

Clinical research plays a vital role in producing knowledge valuable for understanding human disease and improving healthcare quality. Human subject protection is an obligation essential to the clinical research endeavor, much of which is governed by federal regulations and rules. Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) are responsible for overseeing…

Dysfunction in the mirror neuron system has been proposed to underlie sociocognitive deficits of autism--such as imitation, empathy, and Theory of Mind, and has been linked with a deficient level of mu (8-13 Hz) suppression over the sensorimotor cortex during observed but not executed actions. Previous research has found that Neurofeedback…

Over the last decade, higher education has come under intense scrutiny from the government; accrediting agencies in particular have come under fire for a lack of accountability and transparency. Reports from the Commission on the Future of Higher Education and the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee served as a driving force for…

Early college high schools were developed as a partnership between school districts and colleges to provide students an opportunity to earn a high school diploma concurrently with an associate's degree or transferable college credit at little or no cost. In 2011, North Carolina New Schools implemented the Rural Innovative Initiative with the…

A key issue of cognitive diagnostic models (CDMs) is the correct identification of Q-matrix which indicates the relationship between attributes and test items. Previous CDMs typically assumed a known Q-matrix provided by domain experts such as those who developed the questions. However, misspecifications of Q-matrix had been discovered in the past…

There are two primary challenges for instructors in offering a high-quality course at large scale. The first is scaling educational experiences to such a large audience. The second major challenge encountered is that of enabling adaptivity of the educational experience. This thesis addresses both major challenges in the way of high-quality…

Traditionally, cytotechnology (CT) students have been trained by using light microscopy (LM) and glass slides. However, this method of training has some drawbacks. Several other educational programs with similar issues have incorporated virtual microscopy (VM) in their curricula. In VM, the specimens on glass slides are converted into virtual…

The purpose of this study is to explore the feasibility and effectiveness of a scalable concept map based navigation system for a digital textbook. A literature review has been conducted to identify possible methods to promote conceptual understanding in the context of a digital textbook, and these hypothesized solutions will be evaluated through…

This dissertation will present the findings of an in-depth study conducted on flood victims in Bangkok, Thailand. The objective of this study is to explore the feasibility of using modern technologies as a post-crisis remediation strategy to reconnect displaced families in the aftermath of a disaster. This will include investigating which modern…

This study analyzed the plausibility of merging school districts in New York State. The study considered how consolidation impacts finance, instruction, demographics, and enrollment for 56 public schools in Nassau County of the Long Island region of New York State. It also draws comparisons for county-, township-, and regionally-based school…

The purpose of the mixed methods study was to develop and validate the CSIS-360, a 360-degree feedback assessment to measure competencies of school improvement specialists from multiple perspectives. The study consisted of eight practicing school improvement specialists from a variety of settings. The specialists nominated 23 constituents to…