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Community colleges serve a large percentage of historically under-represented populations including students of color, low-income, and first-generation students. Unfortunately, less than half of students who begin at a community college return the following Fall and only about one-fourth of students eventually graduate. Previous research indicates that students' sense of belonging may be a key factor in retention and completion rates. However, large-scale datasets have yet to comprehensively explore students' sense of belonging in the community college setting. To address that issue, the purpose of this quantitative exploratory study was to examine individual and institutional variables associated with a measure of students' institutional sense of belonging in their first and third years of school. Additionally, the research assessed how sense of belonging was related to measures of student academic success. The data are a subset of community college students who participated in the nationally representative NCES 2012-17 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS) (n = 6,700). Analyses revealed that student perceptions of faculty and peer interactions, satisfaction with academic and social experience, and academic confidence were most related to student sense of belonging. Differences were found between contributors to first- and third-year sense of belonging and between student demographic groups. Sense of belonging was found to increase the likelihood of students being retained at an institution and of completing a degree or certificate. By focusing on factors most related to community college students' sense of belonging, institutions can leverage resources to support student retention and degree completion. [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.]

Using autoethnographic, arts-based, and embodied methods, this postformal dissertation study establishes the first of a two-part research-as-community-building template designed with racially and socioeconomically diverse school communities in mind. Imagined as a double helix in an echo of human DNA, it describes an arts-based, embodied self-study (Helix 1) as a prerequisite for later study of community (Helix 2, not yet complete) typified by mindful engagement across socially constructed lines of difference and attention to the potential building blocks of collaborative leadership across those same lines. As a prerequisite to community work, I explored my lifetime encounters with others of difference (Chang, 2008) by creating, analyzing, and interpreting 74 individual crayon/watercolor/salt artworks representing my memories of key historical encounters and relationships. The collective artwork (Glyph Spiral) and the stories it contains form a model classroom for the practice of "critical pedagogy as onto-epistemology" (Kress & Lake, 2018). Lessons have surfaced about seeing and being seen, sharing, slowing down, structural awareness, feelings and healing, and working with memory, history, and time. Each finding is relevant to the future community work, to the experience of research-creation (Springgay & Truman, 2017), and to arts-based research (ABR) in general. This methodological experiment is my first step in exploring how creative, embodied research-as-community-building might work as Family Community Collaboration (FCC) (Ishimaru et al., 2019) and support a movement toward "beloved community" (Kipton, 2016) in the context of diverse schools. [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.]

Aspirin is increasingly recommended for cancer preventive therapy. In the United Kingdom (UK), the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommends (NG151) aspirin to prevent colorectal cancer in people with Lynch syndrome. Future UK guidance may recommend aspirin for those at population risk of colorectal cancer, similar to Australian guidance. In the thesis, I aimed to investigate the barriers and facilitators affecting use of aspirin for preventive therapy among people with Lynch syndrome and the UK public. I also investigated the barriers to healthcare providers recommending and prescribing aspirin. Study One is a systematic review synthesising the data on behaviour and attitudes in the context of aspirin for cancer prevention. This review found substantial scope for behavioural research into the factors affecting aspirin use. Study Two involved qualitative interviews exploring the views of people with Lynch syndrome and healthcare providers. Patients and GPs had multiple unmet informational needs in decisions concerning aspirin, which are inconsistently supported by current care pathways. Study Three was a mixed methods study recruiting the UK public aged 50 to 70. I observed mixed acceptability towards taking aspirin for colorectal cancer prevention, with concerns among participants on the necessity of the medication and the side-effects. Study Four investigated the optimal type and level of information to communicate with GPs to increase their willingness to prescribe aspirin for a hypothetical patient with Lynch syndrome. Across the factorial trial conditions, I manipulated the presence or absence of three information components: 1) national guidance; 2) trial evidence; 3) information comparing the risks and benefits of aspirin. I found no statistically significant main effects or interactions of the three components on willingness to prescribe. Overall, coordinated and multilevel strategies are warranted, addressing the needs of people with Lynch syndrome, the UK public, and GPs.

This thesis researches the zoomorphic incense burners (ZIBs) produced in medieval Khurasan between c.441-597/1050-1200, to understand their role, function and meaning in that multicultural environment. A database is established, with defined classification criteria, and used to analyse their iconology and iconography in context with other contemporaneous metalwork. While the literature has focused on the more sophisticated metalwork of medieval Khurasan that served the wealthy elite in ceremonial settings and on the utilitarian household utensils, there has been limited research devoted to ZIBs. Medieval Khurasan prospered from the economic growth generated by the mercantile activities along its trade routes. The increased wealth and demand for goods, the transcultural influences, the movement of goods and artisans all contributed to a new aesthetic in artwork. The iconography was processed, appropriated and hybridized, in a place that Homi Bhabha called the Third Space, which was laden with cultural meaning. It was from this context that ZIBs emerged. The places of production are here discussed: it is likely that the incense burners were produced in major metalworking centres in medieval Khurasan, and that their consumers were of the middle classes, purchasing metalwork objects reflecting their interests and lifestyles. The research indicates that zoomorphic figurines and fantastical forms were popular throughout the artwork, and ZIBs as hybrids, were a combination both with feline and equine characteristics. Analysing their physical characteristics has allowed the ZIBs to be divided into feline varieties and with horses, with varying associations with symbols of power and sovereignty, recreational hunting and even, with the military. ZIBs like other medieval incense burners, had purposes beyond their function, and this is also examined. The ubiquitous palmette motif decoration may have represented esfand, the aromatic, psychogenic plant, that was used as incense, and was considered to be talismanic, apotropaic and to induce bravery amongst soldiers, the lion-warriors. This symbolism is discussed within the Turkic people's shamanistic background, and dominant military roles.

Using the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study Data (TIMSS) 2015 dataset, this study examines 30 different contextual indicators to determine significant predictors of girls' mathematics achievement globally. The study design employs three nested levels in the hierarchical linear model (individual, classroom, and nation) to analyze cross-national scores and responses to the contextual questionnaires. Additionally, the focus is on girls as a standalone, independent population, not in comparison to boys. This research seeks to understand at which level of society the most variability is found, as well as analyze the comparative effect sizes of various explanatory contextual predictors within the model. By assessing specific aspects of girls' education at the individual (household), classroom and national level, and determining at which level the most variability occurs, the model clarifies the efficacy of different policy approaches. The study found the third (national) level explains an unexpectedly high amount of the variability in girl's mathematics achievement. Additionally, the patterns found at all three levels in this model more closely adhered to smaller, single cohort research focusing on gender differences, than to previous research using large-scale mixed gender datasets. [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.]

Gaps exist in research on the effectiveness of preventive programs and strategies to address anxiety among children, placing the burden on educational leaders and teachers. The problem is anxiety poses a threat to the academic performance of first through fifth grade students. Cognitive learning theory and attentional control theory provided a theoretical framework for the influence of anxiety on learning and academic performance. Attentional control theorists explain anxiety as a negative factor on academic performance as it takes attention away from learning. The purpose of the study was to understand the perceptions and perspectives of first- through fifth-grade teachers on the influence anxiety has on student academic performance. Research questions guided understanding teachers' perspectives on the influence anxiety has on first through fifth grade students' academic performance and perceptions of students' engagement with anxiety at an elementary school in Georgia. Conducting the research was essential as results could be used to develop student interventions. A qualitative case study was used to obtain an in-depth account of teachers' real-life experiences while educating students with anxiety symptoms. Participants were chosen purposively according to voluntary participation, having more than 2 years teaching experience, having a valid Georgia teaching certificate, teaching at the research site, and having a perceived enhanced understanding of the influence anxiety has on students, to provide a more educated group capable of articulating thoughts and feelings. Interviews, a focus group, and a symptoms of anxiety checklist were designed to collect data from 15 participants. Data were transcribed and manually coded to identify emerging themes. Understanding teachers' perspectives and perceptions of anxiety can educate stakeholders on the need for student interventions. [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.]

Most schools in the United States report annual teacher shortages. Without teacher instruction, the stability of education and students' future is in jeopardy. Low self-efficacy is one possible cause of the teacher shortage. Preservice teachers report low self-efficacy during field experience in teacher preparation programs. This quantitative quasi-experimental study investigated the effect of critical thinking instruction on preservice teachers' self-efficacy. The study was conducted at a Southeastern United States university with consenting adults enrolled in the next-to-last semester of a teacher preparation program. Bandura's self-efficacy theory provided a theoretical framework, specifically the constructs of vicarious and mastery experiences. A sample of 43 preservice teachers completed the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale-Long Form assessment instrument. One-way ANOVA data analysis showed a statistically significant difference between treatment and nontreatment groups' posttest, F(1, 41) = 7.52, p = 0.009. Two of the three subfactors of the instrument were statistically significant: classroom management, F(1, 41) = 7.30, p = 0.01, and instructional strategies, F(1, 41) = 7.74, p = 0.008. The results indicate teacher preparation coursework focused on critical thinking instruction, classroom management, and instructional strategies may improve preservice teachers' self-efficacy. The study's implications include establishing a policy to monitor critical thinking in teacher preparation programs, adding to literature to support the connection between critical thinking and self-efficacy, and including more training in critical thinking and self-efficacy in professional practice. Future research may replicate the study at other universities to determine the effect of critical thinking skills instruction on preservice teachers' self-efficacy. [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 novel Nickie-Ben's Close is a magical realism bildungsroman that takes the existing Devil archetype and reimagines him in a story set in modern-day Edinburgh, Scotland. Through the first person perspective of our protagonist Morag, who goes by the initial 'M', this novel explores the transition from childhood to adulthood and finding one's own identity. The Devil uses M's lack of identity and determination for independence to his advantage in seducing her into selling her soul. As an effect of her immoral choices in Edinburgh, M grows in maturity and understanding of herself and the reality of her life. Nickie-Ben's Close shows how easily people are willing to give their - metaphorical - souls away for instant gratification. In Section I of 'The Devil Loves Scotland', I provide a brief history of Devil belief in Scotland through changes in culture, society, religion, and enlightenment from medieval times to present day. I start with supernatural Scottish Border Ballads and then consider the shift in the Devil's representation with the Reformation. Then I examine how the rise of science changed the Devil's representation in the modern era, and how Scottish literature has used the Devil to comment on these changes in belief. In Section II, I explore Muriel Spark's The Ballad of Peckham Rye and argue it is a reimagining of the traditional supernatural Scottish Border Ballad through analyzing its style, structure, and theme in relation to the Border Ballad. In Section III, I reflect on my novel in terms of craft and inspiration from Scottish Devil belief and supernatural literature, with specific examples from The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner by James Hogg, The Testament of Gideon Mack by James Robertson, and The Ballad of Peckham Rye by Muriel Spark.