Exploring High School Students’ Perceptions of the Influence of Fine Arts Education on Academic Achievement

This qualitative study aims to explore student perceptions of fine arts exposure on academic achievement in a southwestern Georgia high school. The study focuses specifically on exposure time and how it affects students academically. Qualitative research methods were used for this investigation. Information was collected through questionnaires, interviews, and artifacts analysis to better understand student perceptions of how fine arts education impacts their personal growth and academic success. This study’s findings provide insights about discovering students’ perceptions of fine arts exposure in relation to personal academic achievement. The results of this investigation can help educate stakeholders and policymakers as they decide on how to integrate fine arts for all students, and allocate adequate instructional time in the United States schools. Keywords: [ academic achievement, core subject; fine arts; fine arts integration; fine arts participation

Narcissism and Intimate Partner Violence: An Establishment of the Link and Investigation of Multiple Potential Mediators

Intimate partner violence (IPV) involves physical, psychological, and/or emotional violence within intimate (e.g., dating) relationships. In this thesis, I examined narcissism as a predictor of IPV. I used an offensive- and defensive-trait framework to come up with 10 potential mediator variables that often typify narcissism and underlie IPV. Correlation analyses confirmed the expected link between narcissism and IPV. Subsequent bootstrapping mediation analysis of IPV-frequency revealed significant indirect effects for 2 mediators - social dominance orientation and the hostile attribution bias-based tendency to retaliate in the face of ambiguous but potentially malevolent social interactions. Bootstrapping analysis of IPV-prevalence also revealed an additional significant indirect effect for hypercompetitiveness. In both bootstrapping analyses the mediator variables only provided partial mediation of the narcissismto- IPV link. In the discussion I focus on the implications for IPV perpetration and research, including avenues for future research and potential interventions for IPV centered on mitigating narcissism

Stress Management Training, Gender, Level of Stress, and Coping in Police Officers

Stress has lasting and sometimes fatal effects on the law enforcement community, which can compromise the well-being of police officers. To date, there is little research on factors that influence the level of stress in police officers. The purpose of this quantitative, correlational study was to investigate the relationship of gender, used coping mechanisms, and levels of organizational and operational stress among police officers who have and have not received stress management training. Bandura\u27s social learning theory and Lazarus and Folkman\u27s theory of cognitive appraisal provided the theoretical foundation. Cross-sectional survey data from a convenience sample of 134 male and female police officers were collected using the Brief Cope, the Operational and Organizational Police Stress Questionnaire, and a demographic survey. An independent samples t test and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to test the hypotheses. According to study findings, officers who received stress management training demonstrated a higher use of adaptive coping mechanisms compared to those who did not receive training. In addition, gender and use of maladaptive coping predicted level of stress among officers. Evidently, receiving stress management training was useful for these participating police officers, and these findings suggest that the training may have positive demonstrable effects for other police officers. This study promotes positive social change by increasing knowledge and awareness of the value that stress management has in reducing level of stress and use of maladaptive coping in police officers, thus empowering the psychological needs of officers while endorsing public safety at the individual and societal level

Public Awareness of Medical Imaging as a Source of Ionizing Radiation Exposure

Background. Biological effects of exposure to ionizing radiation (IR) are well known. Literature suggests most patients and physicians lack proficient understanding of risks associated with ionizing radiation. Our study goals were to: assess the extent to which productive, informed conversations regarding ionizing radiation are occurring between patients and providers; characterize public awareness of medical imaging procedures as sources of IR exposure; and investigate best practices in patientprovider communications. Methods. We developed and administered a 17-question survey to 303 adults at five locations across Chittenden County, Vermont, over a 6-week period in fall 2016. Descriptive and statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS. Results. The three age groups of respondents had different knowledge levels about ionizing radiation (p Conclusions/Recommendations. 1. A standard oral presentation for pre-imaging patient-provider communication, along with a written handout, be developed; 2. A section of the electronic medical record (also accessible through the patient portal) containing IR exposure be created for patients and physicians to track individuals\u27 information.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1249/thumbnail.jp

Potential Effect of Cable Median Barriers on Commercial Vehicle Crossover Crashes

In 2016, commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) were involved in 4,079 fatal crashes in the U.S., representing 11.8 percent of all fatal crashes. State of Kentucky crash data for 2015-2016 show that per capita crash rates and increases in crash-related fatalities exceeded the national average. Crossover crashes occur when a vehicle leaves its intended path and veers into the path of oncoming traffic, typically resulting in head-on or sideswipe opposite direction crashes. Cable median barriers are a countermeasure which can potentially be used to mitigate crossover crashes. This research investigated the potential effectiveness of cable median barriers on CMV crashes. Analysis relied on an expert panel approach that evaluated the potential effects of cable barriers on altering the crash severity for fatal and incapacitating injuries (K and A in the KABCO severity index) and developed safety performance functions (SPFs) that resulted in crash prediction models that can be used to develop crash modification factors (CMFs) for estimating how the presence of cable median barriers can potentially affect crash occurrence and severity. The expert panel analysis concluded that safety gains are possible by installing cable median barriers and that their effectiveness is greater for fatalities. The average score of over 2 from the panel (on a scale from 0-5) indicates a moderate effect on crash outcomes. SPFs developed also supported the overall expert panel assessment. Analysis found that CMV crash outcomes benefit from installing cable median barriers, although only interstate routes were examined. The results indicate that CMV crashes will indeed be mitigated by installing cable median barriers. Both analyses supported this finding, and the overall conclusion is one of a positive impact. Benefits may be greater on divided roadways, since installations on two-lane roads may be more problematic due to space limitations. Additional research is recommended to evaluate this finding in light of which vehicle is the errant vehicle, since there could be significant implications for assessing the effectiveness of the cable median barrier if the CMV is the crossing-over vehicle

A Survey to Measure the Effects of Forced Transition to 100% Online Learning on Community Sharing, Feelings of Social Isolation, Equity, Resilience, and Learning Content During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Survey of student perceptions and experiences with online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic.The vast majority of the 19.9 million students and 1.5 million faculty at U.S. colleges and universities have been suddenly forced to replace their physical classes with online class formats. Many instructors and students are not prepared nor used to teaching/learning virtually, causing a number of unwanted effects, including social isolation, exacerbated inequity, and potentially reduced learning. Thus, there is a critical need to determine what the effects are and how we can best address them. In the absence of such knowledge, the effects of the coronavirus may expand well beyond the illness and fatalities and cause irreparable damage to our nation’s students’ education and mental and physical wellness. It is a crucial time to react and collect pertinent data immediately. As such we have created a survey to measure and monitor the effects of forced transition to 100% online learning on community sharing, feelings of social isolation, equity, resilience, and learning content during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are sharing this survey as a Texas A&M University tech report so that other universities can use this survey to measure the effects elsewhere