The study reported here tests a model that includes several factors thought to contribute to the comprehension of static multimedia learning materials (i.e. background knowledge, working memory, attention to components as measured with eye movement measures). The model examines the effects of working memory capacity, domain specific (biology) and…

Educational reform is most likely to be successful when teachers are knowledgeable about the intended reform, and when their concerns about the reform are understood and addressed. The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) is an effort to establish a set of nationwide expectations for students and teachers. This study examined teacher understanding…

Photoisomerization of conjugated systems is a common pathway for photomechanical energy conversion in biological chromophores. Such reactions are mediated by conical intersections (CIs)--points of degeneracy between different potential energy surfaces, which efficiently funnel population between electronic states. There are many examples of a…

While years of effort to attract more women into higher education careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (collectively known as STEM disciplines) has shown some success, retaining women faculty once they are hired has been much less successful. Their retention is essential in order to maintain diversity among faculty.…

Nursing professionals are held to a variety of roles and responsibilities specific to their field. The success of nursing professionals in their specified roles is essential for quality of care and the success of the healthcare workforce. The current study explored the relationships between personality type, emotional intelligence, social…

This study examined the impact of different levels of task difficulty and expertise on self-efficacy judgments. In addition, the study examines how self-efficacy judgments affect the amount of mental effort investment and task performance under different levels of task difficulty and expertise. Results from this study are used to build a…

This study examined the relationship of student and faculty demographics on Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) student success and persistence as mediated by student perceptions of faculty validation. This study will contribute to an understanding of the complex relationships that exist between these variables, an area that has…

This study examined the extent to which academic leaders and government officials in Poland differ in their notions of good university governance, and sought to uncover how these notions intersect with global trends in higher education governance. The research objective was to identify the criteria that determine what reforms of university…

The California Department of Education (CDE) has long asserted that success Algebra I by Grade 8 is the goal for all California public school students. In fact, the state's accountability system penalizes schools that do not require all of their students to take the Algebra I end-of-course examination by Grade 8 (CDE, 2009). In this dissertation,…

Organizational commitment has been a topic of extensive interest in the organizational behavior literature since the 1950's. It has been associated with workforce stability, decreased absenteeism, organizational citizenship behaviors, and decreased turnover. This study focuses on the relationships between organizational commitment and…

An investigation was conducted to determine the best criterion for advancement to a new reading passage during the commonly used classroom strategy of repeated reading. Knowing when to move students to a new passage during the repeated reading process was considered of value to teachers in efficiently using student learning time. The study also…

Background: With documented benefits and recent public policies, health information technology (IT) has received increasing attention in recent years. However, knowledge about Thailand's state of hospital IT adoption is lacking. The literature also identifies organizational management practices that are important to health IT implementation, but…

The purpose of the current study was to help understand scholarly activity better among counseling psychology doctoral students. Two new variables were added to the previously created predictor model of scholarly activity: advisory working alliance and research competence. Three path analytic models were designed in the current study: (1) a…

Electronic government has been embraced by many organizations seeking to dramatically improve service delivery, but results to date have often fallen short of expectations. This dissertation is focused on state revenue agencies and their electronic tax filing mechanisms for state individual income taxes. It asks: What factors best explain whether…

Citizen science programs are joint efforts between hobbyists and professional scientists designed to collect data to support scientific research. Through these programs, biologists study species population trends while citizen scientists improve their content knowledge and science skills. The purpose of the present mixed method quasi-experimental…