Grounded in the biopsychosocial models of expressive language in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and fragile X syndrome (FXS), this dissertation included two novel studies that examined the role of biological (i.e., physiology), psychological (i.e., autistic traits, anxiety symptoms, and child affect) and social (i.e., communication partner…

A number of theories exist to explain why people gesture when speaking, when they produce gesture, and the origin of their gestures. This dissertation focuses on four individual variables that can influence gesture: (i) familiarity, (ii) imageability, (iii) codability, and (iv) motor experience. Four experiments were designed to determine how each…

This cross-sectional study assessed the relation between spatial skills and mathematics in 854 participants across kindergarten, third grade, and sixth grade. Specifically, the study probed for a threshold for spatial skills when performing mathematics, above which spatial scores and mathematics scores would be significantly less related. This…

One of the challenges humans face is making collective decisions with regards to controversial issues related to science, namely socio-scientific issues (SSIs). Genetic modification, nuclear energy, experimental drugs, 5G technology are a few examples of SSIs. Some of the concerns posed by such issues are compromise to privacy and identity, threat…

The adoption of e-books in the classroom has been a topic of research from different perspectives. While some studies documented the implementation of digital textbooks in K-12 and higher education classrooms, there was no evidence of research related to the introduction and use of e-books in the adult English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom.…

The researcher conducted an applied research study that led to a dissertation in practice. This research study allowed the researcher to identify the experiences perceived by first-generation college students as relevant to college enrollment and persistence. The study used a transcendental phenomenological approach to determine the relationship…

This quantitative cross-sectional study examines the overall attitudes of a sample of Arab Americans toward persons with disabilities. A convenience sample of 372 Arab Americans was recruited from various not-for-profit Arab organizations within 30 States. Participants in the study completed an online self-administered (Qualtrics) survey that…

Examining the testing processes, as well as the scores, is needed for a complete understanding of validity and fairness of computer-based assessments. Examinees' rapid-guessing and insufficient familiarity with computers have been found to be major issues that weaken the validity arguments of scores. This study has three goals: (a) improving…

In the face of massive global extinction, the mission of zoos for conservation education has increasing importance. Zoos are in a unique position to affect the development of youth in ways that are consistent with cultivating pro-environmental behaviors. The purpose of this study was to examine three intrinsic traits of youth important to the…

Individuals' feelings, beliefs and attitudes toward people with disabilities have an influence on their willingness to engage in the social relationship with people with disabilities such as forming friendship at the workplace or romantic relationship with people with disabilities. This study explored the attitudes of students toward people with…

To date, no published research has utilized social network analysis (SNA) to analyze graduate cohorts in clinical psychology. The purpose of this research is to determine how issues of likability among students correlate with other measures, such as disclosure, health, spiritual maturity, help in projects, familiarity, and ease of providing…

The purpose of this study was threefold: Examine middle school teachers' familiarity with, interest in, conceptual knowledge of and performance on light; Examine their ability to identify misconceptions on light and their suggested pedagogical ideas to address the identified misconceptions; and Establish the relationship between the middle school…

Alternative breaks represent a new tradition in collegiate service learning (Campus Connect, 2011), wherein students forego traditional break activities (e.g., vacations) to participate in community service with their peers through university sponsored programs. Despite their growing popularity these programs are understudied. Research that has…

Purpose: Little is known about the trajectory experiences of the female presidents within U.S. member institutions of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU). The purpose of this study was to gain understanding of how female presidents understand and describe their successful attainment of presidencies within CCCU…

Research suggests that listener perceptions of a speaker's oral language use, or a speaker's "comprehensibility," may be influenced by a variety of speaker-, listener-, and context-related factors. Primary speaker factors include aspects of the speaker's proficiency in the target language such as pronunciation and…