The importance of embedding meta skills in computer science graduate apprenticeship programmes.

The purpose of this proposal is to investigate the need for the increased focus on developing transferable and meta skills of Graduate Apprentice Computer Science students and how the advancements of technology can impact the need for this. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is evolving at an exponential rate and is shaping industry and the workplace. The need for developing higher-order skills more explicitly, rather than through the hidden curriculum, will be investigated to ensure students are prepared for the constantly changing landscape of the workplace

Literacy Access through Storytime: An Ethnographic Study of Public Library Storytellers in a Low-Income Neighborhood

While early literacy achievement continues to be stratified by social class in the United States, public libraries often offer programs such as “storytime” in order to bolster the literacy development of youth in their communities. The purpose of the present ethnographic study was to explore how storytellers recruited and maintained participation in this free literacy program in a lower-income neighborhood. Via participant observations, semi-structured interviews, and artifact collection, storytellers recruited new patrons to storytime by (1) appealing to community members to enter the physical space of the library and (2) appealing to library patrons to attend storytime. Once patrons attended storytime, storytellers acted in order to maintain storytime attendance by (1) facilitating meaningful learning experiences, (2) fostering enjoyment through participation, (3) developing nurturing relationships, and (4) offering flexibility in storytime expectations. By exploring a contextualized account of the work of storytellers, the findings suggest important avenues through which public programs may contribute to more equitable access to literacy learning

Age Differences in Substance Use and Social Support among Recently Incarcerated Adult Females

While men retain the highest rates of incarcerations, the female prison population has tripled in the last decade (Covington, 2007; Henderson, 1998). The goal of this study was to examine micro-level forces, such as social support, substance use, and childhood trauma, in a sample of 188 recently incarcerated women, aged 18-58. Using an ANOVA with ages grouped 18-29, 30-39, and 40-58, age differences in substance use were identified, with the 30-39 year old group reporting more alcohol and drug use than the 18-29 year old group. There were no age differences on social support or childhood trauma. Multiple regression analyses revealed that older age and less social support predicted more alcohol use and older age alone predicted drug use. These results illustrate a need for deeper exploration of these micro forces across the life course of incarcerated women and the need for age-specific programs with at-risk populations to address different use patterns

The Utilization of the Q-Sort Methodology to Develop a Measure of Women\u27s Response to Intimate Partner Violence

Q- sort methodology was used to detect underlying structures in 45 statements that reflect women’s attempts to make themselves feel better after incidents of abuse. Eight dichotomous categories were created as plausible descriptors of the 45 statements within the measure. Graduate and advance undergraduate students used the categories to sort the 45 statements. The individual sorts were input with PQMethod software. The Centroid method was used for data analysis. Three of the eight proposed categories were supported: perspective (i.e. the woman’s thought and perceptions regarding the abusive relationship), health behavior, and social relationship. Data analysis displayed that the 45 “feel better” items are able to be grouped into meaningful categories

Examining Digital Proficiency Perceptions and Differences in Achievement During the Covid-19 Pandemic in a Rural Mid-Western High School

In response to the Covid-19 Pandemic, schools worldwide were forced to react quickly to meet the needs of all students in an unprecedented time of change for all facets of society. Through a mixed-method approach, this study aimed to explore the effect of hybrid learning on student achievement, as well as the effect, if any, of teachers’ perceptions of their own digital abilities on student achievement. The research also examined the thoughts of students and teachers as it pertained to teaching and learning during the global pandemic. To analyze the effect of hybrid learning on student achievement, the researcher compared English II and Government End-of-Course (EOC) scores from a year when traditional instruction took place versus a year that required hybrid instruction due to the pandemic. A representation of teachers and students completed surveys, both based on the ISTE Standards, which focused on the respective perceptions of the teachers’ digital abilities. Teachers also completed a survey that analyzed three areas of their relationship with technology use: Comfort and Confidence, Perception of Technology Use, and Technology Integration. Those survey results were tied to EOC scores, which revealed the correlation between perception and achievement. Finally, students and teachers were given an opportunity to share their thoughts concerning the challenges of teaching and learning during a pandemic by answering open-ended questions housed in Qualtrics. The intent of this study was to provide the story of a small rural school as it navigated its way through a challenging time in the world. This study also serves as a guide to comparable districts as they begin their 1:1 journey and in a time of crisis

Dashboard design and usability study for geospatially enabled information seeking to assist pandemic response and resilience

Counties in Missouri are primarily rural. Rural communities often consist of individuals with poor health, lower economic status, and lack of public health infrastructure. During the COVID- 19 pandemic, most research was centered around urban-based data and thus did not provide the full-picture of vulnerabilities present in rural counties for stakeholders to consider when proactively planning for pandemics and making policies in regards to mitigation. To bridge the gap of urban and rural data availability, our team developed two interactive COVID-19 risk assessment dashboards using a 3-step design process that included identifying dashboard functionality based on the goals of stakeholders, collecting COVID-19 risk factor data, and selecting the appropriate type of dashboard visualizations in order for stakeholder needs to be met. Database processes were also created to promote a dynamic design in which risk factors can be easily updated, added, and removed from the risk assessment as COVID-19 progresses and more evidence is collected, keeping the risk assessment relevant. Using our dashboards, users can create customized risk assessments based on six categories of risk: susceptibility, transmission, accessibility, socioeconomic, health culture, and exposure, and geospatially visualize risk throughout counties with the ability to apply a rural/urban filter. Users can also drill-down to a specific county and learn about the prevalence and magnitude of 87 risk factors while looking for spatial trends and how counties with specific risk profiles were affected by COVID-19. A usability study was conducted to ensure that our platform is meaningful and can be easily navigated to aid with pandemic mitigation, healthcare planning, and research. An optimized version of this tool would not only help with planning for COVID-19 variants, future pandemics, and research in Missouri, but also be applied to all states of the United StatIncludes bibliographical references

Contemporary Approaches to Qualitative Research: Andragogical Strategies for Teaching and Learning

This inquiry provides practical guidelines for teaching and learning qualitative research methodology in adult education. Step-by-step procedures are clearly articulated for novice researchers and those new to qualitative research

Contemporary Approaches to Qualitative Research: Andragogical Strategies for Teaching and Learning

This inquiry provides practical suggestions for teaching and learning qualitative research methodology. Important components of qualitative research design/implementation are identified and strategies to guide novice qualitative researchers are outlined

Literacy Access through Storytime: An Ethnographic Study of Public Library Storytellers in a Low-Income Neighborhood

While early literacy achievement continues to be stratified by social class in the United States, public libraries often offer programs such as “storytime” in order to bolster the literacy development of youth in their communities. The purpose of the present ethnographic study was to explore how storytellers recruited and maintained participation in this free literacy program in a lower-income neighborhood. Via participant observations, semi-structured interviews, and artifact collection, storytellers recruited new patrons to storytime by (1) appealing to community members to enter the physical space of the library and (2) appealing to library patrons to attend storytime. Once patrons attended storytime, storytellers acted in order to maintain storytime attendance by (1) facilitating meaningful learning experiences, (2) fostering enjoyment through participation, (3) developing nurturing relationships, and (4) offering flexibility in storytime expectations. By exploring a contextualized account of the work of storytellers, the findings suggest important avenues through which public programs may contribute to more equitable access to literacy learning