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This study focused on Hmong male participants from a California Community College. The Hmong males are from an indigenous ethnic group uprooted from their agrarian living as a hilltribe in Laos to different parts of the world because of a war that involved the United States government. White Supremacy and Whiteness are the leading cause to the racialized labeling of Hmong as Asian American and masking them as the model minority. The Hmong male participants identified familial support, study habits, academic support, and self as factors contributing to their transfer success to a 4-year university. In addition to their success are the obstacles they encounter in finance, college and career readiness, and accessing campus services. Asian Critical Theory was utilized as the theoretical framework to provide critical lens to the experiences for Hmong male participants in the United States educational system. Recommendations and implications were suggested for equitable policy and practices in education towards social justice and disaggregating data for Hmong male college students. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

This study examined phenomenal gender and racial representation disparities in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields -- specifically, a convergent parallel mixed study of the factors contributing to the underrepresentation of women and minorities. The research participants totaled 657 and included college students from the United States. Multiple and linear regression analyses were conducted to identify factors related to obstacles and the ability to overcome them to persist in STEM degrees. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to identify differences between students on the higher end and the lower on the socioeconomic scale. Also, paired t-tests were conducted to compare students' desires and obstacles scores for participants who participated in pre-collegiate STEM programs (e.g., science fair, STEM outreach program, hackathon events, internship) and those who did not. The qualitative analysis was also conducted utilizing thematic analysis techniques. Results of the regression analyses indicated that the number of pre-college STEM program participations was a significant predictor of STEM obstacles. Additionally, t-tests revealed no significant differences in mean scores for math score between male and female students. One-way ANOVA results indicated a weak but highly significant relationship between ethnicity and one's ability to overcome culture or environment to pursue STEM degrees. The qualitative data results indicated that students described overcoming the lack of access to STEM education resources in pre-college by being self-reliant and obtaining support from external resources and educational and government institutions at various levels. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Hmong Americans' postsecondary completion rates remain low when compared to other Asian ethnic groups. As the Hmong population continues to grow, so does the need for intervention to increase the total number of postsecondary graduates. Many Hmong Americans are first-generation college students and continue to face challenges and barriers that prevent them from being successful in higher education. "Forty-seven and a half percent of Hmong adults (25 years or older) reported having attended college, but not earning a degree" (National Commission on Asian American and Pacific Islander Research in Education, 2011). Without a college degree, Hmong Americans face limited resources and opportunities to advance in their careers, resulting in limited earning potential (Research Summary, n.d.). Without a college degree, career options are limited, and may result in low-wage jobs that perpetuate the poverty level of SEAAs. ("Overview of the Educational Challenges of SEAA - 2013," n.d.) Asian Americans continue to be successful in degree completion rates, masking the struggles of sub-ethnic groups that immigrated to America in the late 1970s to early 1980s as they assimilate into America. To address the issue of low completion rates of Hmong Americans, targeted services will aid and support them through their academic journey. Many Hmong Americans begin their journey in higher education at a community college. Community colleges have been providing education and skills training helping to fill the needs of high-demand industries. Community colleges have transformed millions of American lives paving the way to the middle class through middle-class careers (Holliefield-Hoyle & Hammons, 2015, pg. 29). Attrition rates of Hmong Americans remain a primary concern in postsecondary institutions. Primary causes of attrition include inadequate financial support, unsolidified academic decisions, and life interruptions (Bowers et al., 2019, pg. 2). As colleges strive to provide resources to alleviate some of these barriers, many students do not utilize these services (Bowers et al., 2019, pg.2). The purpose of this study was to identify success strategies of Hmong Americans that completed their undergraduate degrees and beyond to provide information to current and future Hmong Americans as they pursue their degree. These strategies helped the participants as they discover new things while learning to balance school, work, children, and cultural obligations. Through a basic general qualitative study, the research identified the following themes: 1) First-Generation College Students; 2) Counseling; 3); Connection with Professors 4) Connection with colleagues; 5) Library; 6) Tutoring; 7) Personal growth. Much research is needed to continue the research into other successful measures Hmong Americans have used to complete their undergraduate degrees and beyond. This research contributes toward the growing research into successful strategies used by Hmong Americans and other students in America as the information gathered from this research will aid all postsecondary students. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Although overall access to higher education has improved for underrepresented minority students (Engstrom & Tinto, 2008), there remains a persistent equity gap in college educational attainment for men of color from low socioeconomic backgrounds. In particular, Southeast Asian male students demonstrate higher attrition rates (Museus & Kiang, 2009; Um, 2003), lower college enrollment (de Brey et al., 2019; Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, 2013), and engagement with staff and faculty (Ramanujan, 2006; Xiong & Wood, 2016) compared to their counterparts. The purpose of this research was to examine success factors that contribute to the academic resilience of Southeast Asian college men who have successfully completed or are progressing toward completion of their bachelor's degree from a California State University (CSU). This phenomenological research study took a qualitative approach and used an online student demographic questionnaire and semistructured interviews with Southeast Asian college men. Three primary research questions drove this study: (1) What barriers do Southeast Asian college men encounter at the CSU?, (2) How do Southeast Asian men overcome attrition at the CSU level?, (3) For Southeast Asian men, what factors cultivate resilience for academic success? The three primary conceptual frameworks that guided this research study included the socio-ecological outcomes (SEO) model (Harris & Wood, 2014), community cultural wealth (CCW) framework (Yosso, 2005), and academic resilience theory (Martin & Marsh, 2003). Based on the data collected along with the alignment of results and conceptual frameworks, this study revealed emerging themes and provided recommendations to enhance educational opportunities and academic success for Southeast Asian college men. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

This study researched educational/career aspirations of thirty-one Hmong students attending high school in the Midwest United States. Historically, Hmong students have faced a variety of barriers in their schooling. Schools need to address the hidden equity issues facing Hmong students. The social and cultural messages in the classroom speak to a generic understanding of white America, failing to use the funds of knowledge from all groups represented in schools to enhance learning. This descriptive case study used Rubin and Rubin's (2012) interviewing technique, creating a partnership between researcher/student. The researcher analyzed students' words and stories creating meaning on how high school experiences led to aspirations. Engaging students in her own school, she synthesized their aspirations by analyzing the interview results. Interviews were coded (Creswell, 2013) by classifying text into student and perceived parent aspirations. The codes of "supportive factors" and "barriers to attainment of goals" gave symbolic meaning to the descriptive case study. The three (3) research questions were: 1. What are the educational and career aspirations of a group of Hmong American and Hmong migrant students schooling in a Midwest United States high school? 2. What are the similarities and differences between the student aspirations and their perceived parent/guardian aspirations? 3. What supportive factors, and what barriers, do students perceive as supporting or preventing their opportunities to accomplish their educational and career goals? The research findings build on the ecological theory of Ogbu (2003) and Ogbu and Simons (1998). Educational and career aspirations are related to how students interpret and respond to societal/school/community forces. Researchers argued that administrators and teachers have perceived Hmong students deficient in language, academic achievement, and preparedness for post-secondary education (Vang, 2005). Students in this study excelled in STEM, AP, and Honors classes especially English and College Writing. Internships, mentoring, and volunteering supported their aspirations. The conclusion relates to current issues in education: teachers use of funds of knowledge and the hidden curriculum which are perceived issues in breaking the bamboo ceiling with a need for policy leadership to understand how the development of educational and career aspirations are influenced by school forces. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

A meta-analysis of group studies and single-case design studies was conducted to examine the effectiveness of vocabulary instruction on vocabulary learning and reading comprehension for English Learners. Overall estimates indicate that vocabulary instruction promoted vocabulary learning and reading comprehension. The mean effect for vocabulary learning was g= 0.40 (CI[subscript 95]= 0.26-0.54, p< 0.001), a small to moderate effect. The mean effect for reading comprehension was g= 0.26 (CI[subscript 95]= 0.07-0.46, p= 0.01). Meta-regression was used to conduct moderator analyses, which indicated that differential effects were associated with methodological rigor, instructional programming, and outcome assessments at a statistically significantly level. Findings suggest that comprehensive interventions tend to produce larger effects, but that interventions do not require significant duration, frequency and intensity to produce positive effects. Direction for future research is suggested based on findings from moderator analyses. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine institutional actions that influence service use among SEAA community college students. More specifically, this study investigated the effects of access to services (service access), validating staff members (staff validation), and caring staff members (staff care) on the use of campus services (service use). Structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis was conducted to examine direct and indirect effects of service access, staff validation, and staff care on service use. Multiple group SEM analysis was conducted to examine whether the direct and indirect effects vary by gender (i.e., male, female), nativity (i.e., native-born, foreign-born), and first-generation status (i.e., first-gen, non-first-gen). Findings indicated background/defining characteristics were not predictive of service use. Validating and caring staff members had a positive and statistically significant direct effect on use of services. The direct effect of service access on service use was not statistically significant. However, service access had an indirect effect on service use through staff validation and staff care. Service access was positively and significantly associated with staff validation and staff care, in turn, associated with service use. Furthermore, while two path were statistically significantly different by nativity, none of the paths were statistically significantly different by gender and first-generation status. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Through counter-storytelling which is a method of telling the stories of people whose stories are not often told, this qualitative study sought to examine ways in which Hmong youth and their families experience and interpret the use of English in their lives and the ways it affects their use and maintenance of the Hmong language. It also sought to understand how the use of English affects the identity of Hmong youth and relationships between Hmong students, their parents and families. In this study 13 Hmong college students and 5 Hmong parents were interviewed in 30- minute sessions using semi-structured, open-ended questions, and some cases, follow-up prompts. The interviews were audio recorded in the language of choice, either in Hmong or English, transcribed into English and categorized into themes. Five themes major themes emerged from the data: (1) Dominance of English Contributes to Hmong Language and Culture Shift for Hmong Youth, (2) English Language Barriers for Youth and Parents, (3) English Impacts Relationship Between Youth and Parents, (4) Fractured Identities of Hmong American Youths, and (5) Potential Improvements to the Educational System. The data found in this study supported previous studies done on the Hmong. The results of this study show the marginalization of the Hmong in U.S. society and in order to improve, there should be some changes to the educational system. Implications for positive solutions are discussed in order to improve their educational attainment, income and quality of life, and more importantly to find solutions to help connect Hmong youth to their culture and maintain their heritage language. In addition, the lessons learned from the Hmong refugee experience can help to improve the experiences of other language minority groups, immigrants, and current or future refugee families in the US. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

The increasing severity and complexity of mental health problems among the college population in the U.S. in the recent years have been well documented (American College Counseling Association, 2015). At the same time, increasing number of international students from Asian countries have enrolled in the U.S. institutions of higher education (Institute of International Education, 2016). Asian international students were reported to have severe mental health issues and low intention to seek help from counseling and psychological services (Han, Han, Luo, Jacobs, & Jean-Baptiste, 2013). The focus of this research was to investigate the mental health of Asian international students in the U.S. through a nationwide sample. The researcher of the study employed secondary data analysis to study the differences of mental health and help-seeking related variables among Asian international students, American students, and other international students. The four-year data (2011-2014) from American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment were used. Moreover, Confirmatory Factorial Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was applied to compare the differences and study the relationships. The results were: (1) Asian international students' mental health was not different nor seemed more severe than American students and other international students, but their self-report of self-injury, suicidal ideation, and suicidal attempts were higher than those of American students and other international students; (2) gender, stress level, marital status, stressors related to personal were significant predictors of their mental health; (3) Asian international students sought less mental health services and were less willing to seek those services than American students and other international students; (4) help-seeking intentions partially mediated the relationship between Asian international students' mental health and their help-seeking behavior; and (5) the relationships of mental health, help-seeking intentions, and help-seeking behavior among Asian international students were significantly different from those of American students and other international students. This study helps faculty members and other university personnel who work with Asian international students to better understand and improve their mental health status. It also provides mental health professionals insights into cultural differences within their international student clients and assists them in promoting help-seeking behavior of international students. In addition, this study contributes to the literature on Asian international students' mental health by utilizing a nationwide sample, incorporating the internalizing-externalizing model of pathology (Krueger, 1999; Krueger & Markon, 2006), and including two comparison groups. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Hmong high school students struggle in science courses and have difficulty using technology, leaving them behind other ethnic groups in science performance. There is lack of research regarding Hmong students' struggle in technology-focused science courses, especially regarding the experiences of Hmong students with using science technology and teachers' experiences with these students. This single case study was designed to explore how technology innovations in high school biology courses impact science learning for Hmong students based on Gu, Zhu, and Guo's technology acceptance model. Both Hmong student and science teacher interviews as well as reflective journal data were collected to better understand students' opinions regarding usefulness and ease-of-use of technology in high school biology courses. Course document data were collected to determine technology integrations in lessons. Participants selected from a public high school in the Midwestern region of the United States included 8 Hmong students and 2 teachers. Data were analyzed within unit analysis and line-by-line coding to construct codes, then through cross unit analysis to develop themes. Results indicate that technologies have a positive impact on Hmong student science learning and aligned to the technology acceptance model. Key findings included positive use of technology, usefulness of technology and ease of use, and evidence of technology integration. The results can be used by teachers to improve support to minority students who learn biology using educational and scientific technology. The use of technology contributes to positive social change to advance Hmong students' acceptance of technology and biology learning, as well as the advancement of education to support all learners. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

This study examines how emergent communities might show different patterns of uses and perceptions for communication and profile features when geolocation features are used. It explores the ways that location awareness moderates the social and cognitive processes that motivate people's participation in the sharing of personal information online. In a field experiment ( "N" = 94), participants were assigned to use customized websites with or without geolocation features that filtered information shared by and shown to the users. Participants' uses were captured with server logs, and their perceptions of the respective user communities were assessed with two follow-up surveys. The results suggest that the use of reputation systems has a positive influence on the perceived reciprocity in a community, which is even stronger when geolocation information is attached to user profiles and user-generated content. Second, the use of social matching systems such as tag-based recommendations of interests and connections is positively associated with perceived interpersonal bonds and social identities in a community. Geolocation awareness also reinforces the influence of the use of social matching systems on perceived interpersonal bonds. Finally, generalized reciprocity and social identification positively contribute to the perceived quality of information contribution. The implications for the development of online sharing communities through the design and use of reputation, recommendation, privacy and geolocation features are discussed. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of information processing and cognitive learning instructional strategies that were succinctly prescribed, scripted, and followed through in the Beyond the Basic Facts math program, which was uniformly implemented in a large, urban school district in the Central Valley of California in Grades 2 to 6. This study measured whether the multiple sensory steps employed in teaching each math fact (information processing) and the organization of the presentation (cognitive learning) of each math fact enhance students' math learning ability and retention. This was a quasi-experimental study, comparing 3 years of California Standards Test, math section, scores before the implementation of Beyond the Basic Facts math program to 1 year of California Standards Test, math section, after the implementation of Beyond the Basic Facts. The hypothesis for this study was that the innovative information processing and cognitive learning instructional strategies scripted in the Beyond the Basic Facts math program increased California Standards Test, math section, scores for all students. Additional subhypotheses were tested to see if there was an increase in math achievement as hypothesized, an increase for boys and girls, for different grade levels, for students of all ethnicities, for students of different family socioeconomic statuses, and for students of different family educational backgrounds. A paired "t" test was performed to show the significant difference in average scale scores and performance levels for the years before and 1 year after the implementation of Beyond the Basic Facts. An ANOVA ad hoc test was performed to show a comparison of means in average improvement in scale scores and performance levels for each of the characteristics in the subhypotheses. The results of this study indicated that the innovative instructional strategies found in information processing and cognitive learning assisted and enhanced students' learning and retention of math facts. These strategies seem to be effective with students with diverse socioeconomic statuses, parental educational backgrounds, male or female gender, and the major prevalent ethnicities. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

The current study employed a secondary statistical analysis on the 2007 National Study on Nontraditional Students Survey data to investigate whether personal characteristics, student perceived stressors, and social support could predict academic performance of nontraditional students enrolled in three different learning environments in terms of instructional delivery methods, and the three different learning environments were named as: distance education, combination of distance and on-campus education, and on-campus education. A total of 879 survey respondents who were pursuing an Associate's (N=395) or Bachelor's degree (N=484), with 470 respondents instructed primarily through distant course delivery, 143 respondents instructed through both classroom and distant course delivery, and 266 respondents primarily instructed through classroom course delivery, were selected for the study. Blockwise regression analyses, using personal characteristics, stressors, and social support as predictors, and GPA as the outcome variable, were conducted to answer the research questions. The results of statistical analyses indicated that for students in distance education, age and single parent status were statistically significant predictors, and students with higher GPA tended to be older and were not single parents. For students studying in the combination of distance and on-campus education, age and employment status were statistically significant predictors, and students with higher GPA tended to be older and work more hours per week. Lastly, for students studying on-campus, gender, employment status, single parent status, and professional community support were statistically significant predictors, and students with higher GPA tended to be female, work more hours per week, not single parents, and received lower support form the professional community. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Analyzing images to infer physical scene properties is a fundamental task in computer vision. It is by nature an ill-posed inverse problem, because imaging is a complicated, information-lossy physical and measurement process that cannot be deterministically inverted. This dissertation presents theory and algorithms for handling ambiguities in a variety of low-level vision problems. They are based on two key ideas: (1) explicitly modeling and reporting uncertainties are beneficial to visual inference; and (2) using local models can significantly reduce ambiguities that would exist in pixelwise analysis. In the first part of the dissertation, we study the color measurement pipeline of consumer digital cameras, and consider the inherent uncertainty of undoing the effects of tone-mapping. We introduce statistical models for this uncertainty and algorithms for fitting it to given cameras or imaging pipelines. Once fit, the model provides for each tone-mapped color a probability distribution over linear scene colors that could have induced it, which is demonstrated to be useful for a number of downstream inference applications. In the second part of the dissertation, we study the pixelwise ambiguities in physics-based visual inference and present theory and algorithms for employing local models to eliminate or reduce these ambiguities. In shape from shading, we perform mathematical analysis showing that when restricted with quadratic local models, the shape and lighting ambiguities will be reduced to a small finite number of choices as opposed to otherwise continuous manifolds. We propose a framework for surface reconstruction by enforcing consensus on the local regions, which is later enhanced and extended to be applicable to a variety of other visual inference tasks., Engineering and Applied Sciences - Engineering Sciences

Patterning, morphogenesis, and cell divisions are distinct processes during development yet are concurrent and likely highly integrated. However, it has been challenging to investigate them as a whole. Recent advances in imaging and labeling tools make it possible to observe live tissues with high coverage and resolution. In this dissertation work, we developed a novel imaging platform that allowed us to fully capture the early neural tube formation process in live zebrafish embryos at cellular resolution. Importantly, these datasets allow us to reliably track single neural progenitors. These tracks carry information on the history of cell movement, shape change, division, and gene expression all together. By comparing tracks of different progenitor fates, we found they show a spatially noisy response to Sonic hedgehog (Shh) and become specified in a positionally mixed manner, in surprising contrast to the "French Flag" morphogen patterning model. Both cell movement and division contribute to cell mixing. In addition, we decoupled the temporal and genetic regulatory network (GRN) noises in Shh interpretation using tracks that carry both Shh signaling and cell fate reporters. Our tracks suggest that, after specification, progenitors undergo sorting to self-assemble a sharp pattern. Consistent with this hypothesis, we found ectopically induced progenitors move to correct locations. Furthermore, we show that proper adhesion is required for cell sorting to happen (Chapters 2 and 3). In the cleavage stage embryos, the cells on the surface undergo shape changes followed by lineage separation and differentiation. We quantitatively measured this morphogenesis process and tracked cell divisions. By applying a mathematical model we uncover a predictive, and perhaps general link between cell division orientation, mechanical interaction, and the morphogenetic behavior of the whole surface layer (Chapter 4). Finally, we discuss the concepts and tools of cell tracking including a multi-color cell labeling method we developed by modifying the "Brainbow" system (Chapter 5). Together this dissertation showcases the importance and promise of live observation based, quantitative and integrated analysis in our understanding of complex multi-cellular developmental processes.