Supervising Service Member/Veterans as Master’s Level Counseling Students: A Qualitative Study

The experience of supervisors of military service member/veteran supervisees in master’s level counseling practicum and internship has not been researched. Clinical supervision is a central tenet of counselor training and professional development. The benefits of multiculturally sensitive supervision, multicultural competency training, and better integration of diversity awareness into supervision approaches has been highlighted by the research. Military service member/veterans represent a unique cultural demographic, and are actively using educational benefits to pursue secondary careers, such as mental health professionals. The term student service member/veteran (SSM/V) is inclusive of both current and separated military members engaged as students in a learning environment and represents a special population. Although there is no research specific to the supervision of SSM/Vs in master’s level counseling programs, there is increasing emphasis on military cultural competencies within counseling. This generic qualitative study investigated the experience of supervisors of student service member/veterans (SSM/Vs) in master’s level counseling program practicum and internship through a relational cultural theory lens. The study was conducted through semi-structured interviews of supervisors of SSM/Vs that had been supervising for at least three years, supervised both SSM/Vs and non-SSM/Vs, and were currently supervising or had supervised an SSM/V within the last two years. The results of the analyzed data revealed two overarching themes: that supervisors experience initial confusion in the supervisory relationship stemming from perceived differences between SSM/Vs and non-SSM/Vs and adjustment of the supervisory approach. The first theme, supervisors’ initial confusion in the supervisory relationship stemming from perceived differences between SSM/Vs and non-SSM/Vs, was related to behaviors of SSM/Vs to include (a) increased self-responsibility and taking on multiple roles, (b) appearing to not want to show struggle, (c) reservedness, (d) unique communication style, and (e) analytical approach. The second theme, adjustment of the supervisory approach, was related to (a) building rapport, (b) hierarchy and structure, (c) communication in the supervision approach, (d) adjustment of models and techniques, (e) feedback and assessment, (f) self-care, and (g) resources. Findings suggest supervisors, especially those without previous exposure to military members/veteran culture, experience initial confusion, and would benefit from adjusting supervision communication and approaches when working with this population. The study offers implications for counseling supervisors and recommendations for future research

Teachers' Reported Experiences Creating Active Learning Culture for Students with Comorbid Visual Impairment and Autism: A Phenomenological Study

The number of individuals with comorbid visual impairment and autism spectrum disorder is growing rapidly. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to describe the lived experiences of teachers who strategically create active learning culture for tactile-defensive students who have autism and visual impairment. Little research exists on the phenomenon of active learning for blind children who are on the autism spectrum. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 10 certified special educators from various regions of the United States. Discussions centered on six research questions based on Nielsen’s Active Learning Theory™, an approach developed for cognitively-challenged learners with sensory loss and comorbid developmental disabilities. Ayers’ complementary theory of sensory integration paralleled the study. Interview transcripts were coded and analyzed for themes reflecting the essential meaning and structural elements of active learning phenomenon as applied to children with blindness and autism. Results indicated the over-arching need for trusting teacher-student relationships within a multi-dimensional, sensory-dense environment. Student-centered classrooms with realistic and relevant constructivist learning opportunities should encourage thinking while doing. Hands-on activity with developmentally-appropriate materials may promote concept acquisition and skills which are foundational to higher levels of independence. Barriers to active learning included adults’ lack of understanding, space limitations, and financial considerations. Geographically-diverse professionals implemented similar classroom strategies and experienced congruent results. This suggests that active learning may be an effective instructional method for students with dysfunctional tactual responsiveness who have visual impairment and autism. Future researchers may explore active learning in the home environment. Subsequent designs may allow for a greater number of participants or quantify elements of active learning related to visual impairment and autism

Exploring the Influences of Culture on Hand-Hygiene Beliefs of Foreign-Born Healthcare Workers

The hand-hygiene practices of nonadherent health care workers (HCWs) are a major threat to patient safety and thus continue to be a concern for healthcare leaders and administrators worldwide. Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), which are linked to HCWs’ unclean hands, are prevalent throughout global healthcare settings. Global migration in the nursing profession and intercontinental travel among direct patient care providers make it challenging for healthcare leaders to sustain HCWs’ adherence to hand-hygiene practices. The purpose of this grounded study was to explore the influence of the cultural beliefs about hand-hygiene practices of foreign-born HCWs. The theory of planned behavior was used to frame and support the study. Survey Monkey was used to recruit and distribute open-ended questions to 22 foreign-born HCWs in the United States over the age of 18. MAXQDA software data helped analyze, organize, and code the data and identify themes. The “Cultural Influential Hand-hygiene Belief Actional Model for HCWs,” which was derived from the emergent themes, may help to effect positive social change by providing administrators with valuable information about how culture influences HCWs’ hand-hygiene practices. Contributing salient factors of this model that highlight the foreign-born HCWs’ cultural attitudes toward hand-hygiene are positive outlook, native cultural-religious beliefs pertaining to hand-hygiene, cultural personal experiences, foreign-born hand-hygiene culture, cultural guidance, barriers, and facilitators. Further, this study adds importance to social change because the findings of this study provide needed information of how foreign-born HCWs’ culture and beliefs influence their intent to perform hand-hygiene practices, which can be used to help healthcare administrators foster and improve hand-hygiene-adherent practices among HCWs

Exploring First Year Students’ Interest in Reading Academic Texts in an Urban Community College Composition Classroom

This study explores how the construct of interest may influence first-year community college students’ willingness to engage with academic text assignments. Research on interest theory as presented by Renninger (2009) suggests that students, even those with low self-efficacy or regulation, are more likely to make gains in engagement and/or academic progress, dependent upon how interested those students are in the texts assigned by their teacher. Students from two 2020 spring semester first-year composition courses at a Northeast metropolitan community college were provided with 6 potential academic reading assignments on diverse topics. Students were asked to select one assignment, read it, and report back on their interest level. Through surveys, discussion posts, and class discussions, the concept of student interest in these texts was examined. Using constant comparative coding as asserted by Glaser (1965) and facilitated by NVivo 12 Software, underlying factors related to student interest in academic text assignments were explored. Through participant perspective, twelve observable factors relevant to student interest in academic text assignments were identified, culminating in the articulation of a newly proposed workflow model on Student Interest to Read Academic Texts. This model contributes to the field a visual understanding of the impact of student interest in academic text assignments specific to a young urban adult population. As such, it serves as a valuable first step to consider innovation in educational instruction, to better harness student interest in academic texts for greater engagement and learning

The Role of TIM-3 in Adaptive Immunity

T cell immunoglobulin mucin-3 (TIM-3) is an immune modulatory molecule that functions in both adaptive and innate immunity. In the adaptive immune system, TIM-3 was originally identified as a molecule selectively expressed on interferon gamma (IFN-γ) producing cluster of differentiation (CD)-4+ and CD8+ T cells and was subsequently found to be upregulated in T cells that become dysfunctional or exhausted in chronic infection or cancer. In the innate immune system, expression of TIM-3 is also found on natural killer (NK) cells, dendritic cells, macrophages and monocytes. Clinically, up-regulation of TIM-3 on NK cells, as well as on monocytes and macrophages, correlates with worsening disease in settings of chronic infection and cancer. TIM-3’s co-expression with Programmed Cell Death-1 (PD-1) on exhausted tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and NK cells, together with enhanced anti-tumor efficacy upon co-blockade of TIM-3 and PD-1 in several pre-clinical syngeneic tumor models, make it an attractive target for immune-therapy. The specific aims of this thesis will investigate the functional role of TIM-3 in CD8+ T cells using gene knockout or pharmacological inhibition studies. First, we determined the impact of loss of TIM-3 on tumor control and TIL function using TIM-3 knock-out (KO) mice in comparison with PD-1 KO, TIM-3 and PD-1 double (dKO) or wild type (WT) mice. Utilizing syngeneic murine models of cancer we found that loss of TIM-3 alone was not sufficient to provide tumor control, however, in the background of PD-1 null, TIM-3 loss resulted in a significant increase in lifespan, increased CD8+ tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and decreased T regulatory cells compared to WT and PD-1 alone. Overall, there were relatively distinct gene expression signatures from CD8+ TILs isolated from TIM-3 KO and PD1 KO mice bearing MC38 tumors. There were, however, some notable exceptions which include similarities in upregulation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and B cell receptor signaling pathways. Interestingly, the CD8+ TIL’s isolated from TIM-3 KO mice did not share any overlapping gene expression pathway changes when compared to dKO. However, dKO and PD1 KO CD8+ TILs shared downregulation of the cell control and nucleotide excision repair (NER)pathways. Second, using pharmacologic blockade, we determined the effect of TIM-3 inhibition on CD8+ T cells functionality and gene expression profiles utilizing a well characterized function-blocking anti-human TIM-3 monoclonal antibody JNJ-64158120 (JnJ-120). We describe for the first time that JnJ-120 enhances IFN-γ and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) production, promotesCD8+ T cell proliferation, and increases gene expression of T cell activation markers such asinterleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R) and gene associated with IFN-γ regulation, such as (interferon regulatory factor) IRF-4. Together, these findings suggest that TIM-3 functions largely through a pathway that is non-redundant with PD-1 and that targeting both enhances anti-tumor efficacy through activation of T cell responses. These data provide rationale to support the combined targeting of TIM-3 with PD-1 agents in the clinic

Community College Transfer Student Access to Nationally Competitive Awards

Employing Museus’ (2014) Culturally Engaging Campus Environment framework, this mixed-method exploratory study sought to ascertain what prospective (proTSCC) and current transfer students from community colleges (TSCC) knew about nationally competitive awards and to identify factors that influenced their decision to apply. Beginning with phenomenological interviews of transfer students and alumni, their responses informed the development of an Access to Nationally Competitive Awards Scale, which was then disseminated to currently enrolled community college students who indicated intentions of transferring to a four-year institution. Transfer students from community colleges (TSCC) make up approximately 19% of enrollment at four-year institutions, yet research has shown that TSCC frequently feel unsupported and lost during and after the transfer process (Schmertz, & Carney, 2013; Tobolowsky & Cox, 2012). Nationally competitive awards (NCAs) fund a variety of opportunities, including study abroad, research, graduate school, and more (Cobane & Jennings, 2017). Currently, there is a dearth of research on NCAs, specifically in relation to access and awareness of these opportunities (Terri Heath et al., 1993). Furthermore, many NCAs require campus support, generally in the form of an institutional endorsement or nomination letter (National Association of Fellowship Advisors, n.d., Guidelines for Institutions section), which places access directly in the hands of institutions. Findings show that TSCC and proTSCC were mostly unaware of NCAs, yet they were eligible for at least one of the study exemplars and highly interested in learning more about these opportunities. Moreover, specific external, individual, and campus environment factors influenced their motivation to apply

Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA) Programs: Examining WIOA Impact on Disconnected Young Adults' Academic, Career, and Personal Development

Purpose: The purpose of this explanatory sequential mixed methods study was to investigate the perceptions of disconnected young adults’ participation in a WIOA program on the impact of their academic, career, and personal development. Methodology: This study used quantitative and qualitative approaches to explore how disconnected young adults perceived their academic achievement: reading, writing skills, and educational attainment; and career and personal development, in terms of motivation, life, people, and professional skills as a result of participating in the WIOA program. Findings: The findings suggest that, overall, disconnected young adult WIOA participants’ academic, career, and personal development have been positively impacted as a result of participating in a federally funded WIOA program. Participants expressed how motivation played a key role in their academic achievement. However, a significant number of WIOA participants did not need the academic support services focused on high school diploma completion. WIOA program empowerment strategies designed to motivate WIOA participants impacted their personal development. Participants believed that their career development had the greatest impact. However, the findings revealed that participants had barriers that created challenges for transitioning into the workforce. Participants thought that WIOA career counselors and coaches lacked training and cultural sensitivity. The need for more career and technical education (CTE) certifications, paid internships, and work-based learning activities was also a concern among WIOA participants. Conclusions: The study’s findings supported the need for federally funded WIOA programs to develop work-based learning activities that are directly aligned to participants’ needs. Businesses and community partners are needed to implement job training programs that lead to middle-skilled career jobs. At the federal, state, and local levels, WIOA administrators, in partnership with policy makers and politicians, must introduce legislation and policies that bring more funding to WIOA programs. Recommendations: Further research on federally funded WIOA programs is needed to provide a greater understanding of what barriers prevented participants from successfully transitioning into the workforce. Research examining career counselors and coaches’ perceptions on effective work-based learning activities will provide needed data for program success. Additional research on how WIOA programs were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic will add to future WIOA program and development strategic plans

An Examination of an Orientation for First-Time Online Learners: Fostering Readiness and Self-Efficacy

Past research has shown that using an online student orientation can decrease anxiety for students taking online classes for the first time. This study focuses on the experience of first-time online students from a community college in South Texas using a multiple regression analysis to determine first-time online student readiness in the areas of study skills, time management, computer self-efficacy, navigation, organization, and course expectations after completing an online student orientation. Participants completed an online student orientation and completed two survey instruments after completion of the orientation. Overall, research findings provided evidence on how an online student orientation can be used as a proactive online student support strategy that can boost first-time online students’ readiness

A Modified TOPSIS Method with Improved Rank Stability and Method Consistency for Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis

The TOPSIS method, along with most other MCDA methods, is susceptible to a change in the order of how alternatives are ranked due to the insertion or removal of an alternative to the original MCDA decision matrix. This problem can critically undermine and invalidate the results produced by an MCDA method due to this inconsistency. The problem is referred to as the rank reversal problem. This study sets out to explore and understand the rank reversal problem encountered in the TOPSIS method and shows it to be largely caused by the data normalization technique used for the data aggregation function. It also shows that the severity of the rank reversal problem in the TOPSIS method is dependent on the complexity of the decision matrix. This research also indicates that the method consistency and rank stability of the TOPSIS method are inversely proportional to the complexity of the decision matrix. In order to improve method consistency and rank stability, a new method called the P-TOPSIS is proposed to replace the error-prone TOPSIS method. The P-TOPSIS method is shown to be highly effective against rank reversal problems caused by the addition or removal of non-optimal alternatives. Furthermore, through the simulations it is shown that the P-TOPSIS method can produce very similar results to those produced using the reference methods. In addition, it is found that the P-TOPSIS is not significantly different from the TOPSIS method in terms of method consistency and rank stability when the complexity of the decision matrix is low; however, the P-TOPSIS method is significantly superior to the TOPSIS method as the decision matrix becomes more complex

Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy for the Evaluation of Mid-Palatal Suture Maturation After Expansion

Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) is a technique for characterizing the optical properties of biological tissues and has been extensively studied for diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring of various diseases. This thesis investigates the potential use of DRS for the evaluation of mid-palatal suture maturation after expansion. The most common evaluation technique for palatal expansion is Computed Tomography (CT). The major issue with CT is that during serial radiological scanning, patients are repeatedly exposed to ionizing radiation. DRS is a non-invasive, non-ionizing method which can be used to quantify the tissue optical properties in the visible wavelength in vivo. This study demonstrates that a fiber-optic-based DRS system could be used to quantify the total hemoglobin content and scattering coefficient in the simulated dental tissue, showing its potential to be used to represent the maturation of mid-palatal suture