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Item Academic motivation of degree-seeking undergraduate students at a for-profit university in the United States(2016-05) Carroll, John Walter; Saenz, Victor B.; Sharpe, Edwin Reese; Reddick, Richard J; Ovando, Martha; Spelman, BillStudents attending for-profit colleges and universities represent approximately 11% of the undergraduate population yet little is known about their academic motivation while attending. The Academic Motivation Scale (AMS) (Vallerand, Pelletier, Briere, Senecal, & Vallieres, 1992), grounded in self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985b), has been used successfully for numerous studies. The AMS has not been tested with a for-profit student population. The AMS and personal data questionnaire were administered via an Internet survey hosted by Survey Gizmo to for-profit students attending face-to-face classes in the United States. The study uses an exploratory design where subjects were selected using a convenience sample (N = 44). Cronbach’s alpha was calculated to measure the internal consistency and reliability of the AMS with for-profit students. Cronbach’s alpha was greater than 0.70 for all the AMS’s seven subscales and two aggregate scales implying the AMS is appropriate for use with for-profit student populations. The study evaluated possible correlations between academic motivation and age. Spearman’s rho correlation coefficient calculations revealed no statistically significant relationship between academic motivation and age. Academic motivation was also tested a predictor of self-reported GPA via ordinary least squares regression. A natural log transformation was conducted to restate the data into a more normal distribution. After transformation, GPA was not a statistically significant predictor of GPA. The aggregate measure of extrinsic motivation was statistically significantly higher than the aggregate measure of intrinsic motivation. No statistically significant difference was found among the three extrinsic motivation subscales. Intrinsic motivation to experience was statistically significantly different than intrinsic motivation to know and intrinsic motivation to accomplish. Cronbach’s alpha was “good” or better for all measure of academic motivation. No statistically significant relationship was found among academic motivation and age. Academic motivation was not revealed to be a useful predictor of GPA.Item Between practice and the classroom : the making of masculinity and race in the mis-education of Black male student-athletes on a college campus(2012-05) Yearwood, Gabby M. H.; Gordon, Edmund Tayloe; Franklin, Maria; Richardson, Matt; Smith, Christen; Vargas, JoãoThis project argues that American college sports involving Black male athletes (primarily football and men’s basketball) at Gulf Coast State University (GCSU) actively construct and impact local knowledge about Black masculinity in relation to white, male, hetero-normative systems of authority. These sports, in turn, then impact policy, administrative decisions, and teaching approaches as they relate to young Black men on a college campus. In other words, Black male college athletes on a white college campus offer the opportunity for a reinforcement of systems of authority through the pattern of de-stabilizing their subjectivity (as nothing more than physical entities) in order to provide a revenue-generating resource for the university. I posit that the positioning of Black males in this space as athletes and as students is strategic and intentional, when one takes into account the ongoing dynamic of the hegemonic positioning of white, male, hetero-normative value systems as the unmarked standard of social norms. That these contested meanings become significant within the realm of sport situates sport itself as another, often underutilized, space for social inquiry. I further argue that this categorization is heightened in the context of a predominantly white institution. Through ethnographic fieldwork, I explored the sport (mainly football and men’s basketball) and academic community at GCSU with the goal of understanding how high-profile and high-revenue sports and their participants become central to the understanding and expression of normalized ideas about race, gender, and sexuality. I reason that the predominantly white demography of GCSU, added to the uneven ratio of Black to white males on the football and basketball teams, creates perceptions about race and masculinity that factor into people’s everyday understanding of the term “student-athlete”. The term “student-athlete” becomes racialized and gendered in ways that continually make reference to Black male athletes differently than other students and student-athletes at the university. I believe these effects on the term then impacts the structural mechanisms that affect the daily lives of these Black male athletes both on and off the field, both inside and outside the classroom.Item Binge drinking a decade later: judicial officers react to reduction strategies(Texas Tech University, 2005-12) Hammat, Jennifer R.; Shonrock, Michael D.; Butner, Bonita K.; Stevens, TaraFor years, college administrators have been aware of the concerns associated with binge drinking on college campuses. Binge drinking refers to the rapid or subsequent consumption of alcoholic beverages; generally quantified as 4 successive drinks for women or 5 successive drinks for men. In the early 1990s, the Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study (CAS) was making headlines in higher education with their estimated prevalence rates of binge drinking on college campuses. Once the initial findings of the 1993 CAS study were released, and the concerns of college presidents and administrators had also been examined, Dr. Henry Wechsler of the Harvard School of Public Health published a list of guidelines in 1996 known as the 12-Step Program as a flexible guide to college administrators who were concerned about the binge drinking problems on their campuses in order to serve as a starting point to attack the issue. This study asked campus judicial officers about the implemented 12-Step Program strategies on their campuses, and if those efforts had reduced the number of alcohol-related cases they were adjudicating. The campus judicial officers surveyed were all members of the Association for Student Judicial Affairs (ASJA). The study found that all 12 recommended strategies had been implemented at varying levels on colleges. It also showed campus judicial officers perception of the binge drinking reduction efforts was correlated to the percentage of alcohol-related cases they hear. There was no statistically significant difference in reported percentages of alcohol-related cases by institutional size, institutional type, or by ASJA circuit. Additionally, there was no statistically significant difference in implementation strategies by institutional size, institutional type, or by ASJA circuit. The two most statistically significant steps of the 12-Step program to be considered for implementation was determined to be 1) assess the ways in which alcohol is affecting your campus and 2) freshman orientation should start long before students arrive on campus. This study also established a baseline of college discipline officer data as it pertains to alcohol-related incidents and reduction strategies.Item Binge drinking a decade later: Judicial officers react to reduction strategies(2005-12) Hammat, Jennifer R.; Shonrock, Michael D.; Butner, Bonita K.; Stevens, TaraFor years, college administrators have been aware of the concerns associated with binge drinking on college campuses. Binge drinking refers to the rapid or subsequent consumption of alcoholic beverages; generally quantified as 4 successive drinks for women or 5 successive drinks for men. In the early 1990s, the Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study (CAS) was making headlines in higher education with their estimated prevalence rates of binge drinking on college campuses. Once the initial findings of the 1993 CAS study were released, and the concerns of college presidents and administrators had also been examined, Dr. Henry Wechsler of the Harvard School of Public Health published a list of guidelines in 1996 known as the 12-Step Program as a flexible guide to college administrators who were concerned about the binge drinking problems on their campuses in order to serve as a starting point to attack the issue. This study asked campus judicial officers about the implemented 12-Step Program strategies on their campuses, and if those efforts had reduced the number of alcohol-related cases they were adjudicating. The campus judicial officers surveyed were all members of the Association for Student Judicial Affairs (ASJA). The study found that all 12 recommended strategies had been implemented at varying levels on colleges. It also showed campus judicial officers perception of the binge drinking reduction efforts was correlated to the percentage of alcohol-related cases they hear. There was no statistically significant difference in reported percentages of alcohol-related cases by institutional size, institutional type, or by ASJA circuit. Additionally, there was no statistically significant difference in implementation strategies by institutional size, institutional type, or by ASJA circuit. The two most statistically significant steps of the 12-Step program to be considered for implementation was determined to be 1) assess the ways in which alcohol is affecting your campus and 2) freshman orientation should start long before students arrive on campus. This study also established a baseline of college discipline officer data as it pertains to alcohol-related incidents and reduction strategies.Item Examining hookah use among U.S. college students(2014-08) Chen, Yen Tzu; Loukas, Alexandra; Pasch, KerynHookah smoking has become a popular form of tobacco use among college students. However, there is limited research exploring the risk factors associated with hookah use among this population. This study examined two risk factors, harm perceptions and beliefs about government evaluation of hookah, associated with current use of hookah among 18-24 year old college students, and looked at differences between current hookah users and non-users on cigarette smoking status, various demographic characteristics, and the two risk factors (harm perceptions and beliefs). Participants were 5,028 university students aged 18-24 (M age = 20.5 years; 59.6% female) from seven public universities within a larger university system. Students completed an online survey, which assessed their knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors related to hookah use. In this sample, 10.8% of participants reported current or past 30-day hookah use. There were differences between current hookah users and non-users on cigarette smoking status, gender, race/ethnicity, harm perceptions, as well as beliefs about government evaluation of hookah. Cigarette smokers, males, non-Hispanic White students, students reporting lower harm perceptions regarding hookah use, and those who believed the government evaluates hookah for safety were significantly more likely than their peers to be current hookah users. Results from a logistic regression analysis indicated that after controlling for cigarette smoking status, gender, and race/ethnicity, harm perceptions of hookah use, but not beliefs about government safety evaluation of hookah, was associated with an increased likelihood of current hookah use. Cigarette smoking was the strongest correlate of current hookah use; current cigarette smokers were seven times more likely than non-smokers to have used hookah in the past 30 days. Findings point to the necessity of educating college students, particularly cigarette smokers, about the dangers of hookah use. Additionally, tobacco prevention and cessation programs should be implemented in order to reduce initiation and continued use, and it is important to educate college student smokers about the dangers of dual use of this product with cigarettes.Item Exemplary rural community college presidents: A case study of how well their professional qualities mirror job advertisements(Texas Tech University, 2005-12) Leist, James E.; Cejda, Brent D.Major differences exist between rural community colleges (CCs) and their urban and suburban counterparts, especially in the areas of mission, location, culture, and constituencies (Valadez & Killacky, 1995; Eller, Martinez, Pace, Pavel, & Barnett, 1999; Rosenfeld, 2001). The educational, economic, and sociological challenges endemic to rural America may require a CC president to possess professional qualities not needed in a city-based venue. Although research has suggested this fact, presidential job advertisements continue to treat rural, urban, and suburban CCs as a homogenous group—thus perpetuating the notion that a universal set of professional qualities exists. This can lead to an advertisement focused on personal attributes rather than organizational needs and challenges and prevent a “good fit” between a president and an institution (Bumpas, 1998). This study examined how well the professional qualities of exemplary rural CC presidents mirror job advertisements. Archival records and telephone interviews supported the collective case study methodology. Ninety-five job advertisements published over a five-year period in The Chronicle of Higher Education provided data for a baseline template. This document offered a marketplace perspective of the professional qualities typically sought in rural CC presidents. Fifteen rural CC presidents participated in one-on-one interviews. They critiqued how well the template depicted the qualities for their position. They also suggested changes for future advertisements—to improve the potential for a good fit between a president and a rural institution. Despite acknowledging the existence of a universal set of professional qualities, these senior leaders nonetheless emphasized that rural CCs are different. As such, a president must possess special traits and characteristics to successfully confront the challenges and issues posed by the geography, politics, and culture of a rural setting. These challenges and issues require a president to genuinely engage, respect, and embrace local citizens—and assimilate—into their rural way of life. Most institutions either downplay or fail to mention this “concept of rurality” in their advertisements. The baseline template also failed to address the situational context of an institution. The 15 presidents argued that advertisements must emphasize the current status of the organization and its future goals and challenges, to help applicants understand where the institution is, where it wants to go, and what factors might serve as barriers in getting there. Rural CCs should use this situational context to identify the professional qualities listed in a presidential job advertisement. This feedback, coupled with inputs focused on other aspects related to the professional qualities needed by a rural CC president, resulted in a new format for future job advertisements. This format utilizes the concept of rurality and the situational context of the organization to identify specific professional qualities that will maximize the potential for a good fit between a president and the institutional mission, location, culture, and constituencies.Item Exemplary rural community college presidents: A case study of how well their professional qualities mirror job advertisements(2005-12) Leist, James E.; Cejda, Brent D.; Murray, John P.; Duemer, Lee S.Major differences exist between rural community colleges (CCs) and their urban and suburban counterparts, especially in the areas of mission, location, culture, and constituencies (Valadez & Killacky, 1995; Eller, Martinez, Pace, Pavel, & Barnett, 1999; Rosenfeld, 2001). The educational, economic, and sociological challenges endemic to rural America may require a CC president to possess professional qualities not needed in a city-based venue. Although research has suggested this fact, presidential job advertisements continue to treat rural, urban, and suburban CCs as a homogenous group—thus perpetuating the notion that a universal set of professional qualities exists. This can lead to an advertisement focused on personal attributes rather than organizational needs and challenges and prevent a “good fit” between a president and an institution (Bumpas, 1998). This study examined how well the professional qualities of exemplary rural CC presidents mirror job advertisements. Archival records and telephone interviews supported the collective case study methodology. Ninety-five job advertisements published over a five-year period in The Chronicle of Higher Education provided data for a baseline template. This document offered a marketplace perspective of the professional qualities typically sought in rural CC presidents. Fifteen rural CC presidents participated in one-on-one interviews. They critiqued how well the template depicted the qualities for their position. They also suggested changes for future advertisements—to improve the potential for a good fit between a president and a rural institution. Despite acknowledging the existence of a universal set of professional qualities, these senior leaders nonetheless emphasized that rural CCs are different. As such, a president must possess special traits and characteristics to successfully confront the challenges and issues posed by the geography, politics, and culture of a rural setting. These challenges and issues require a president to genuinely engage, respect, and embrace local citizens—and assimilate—into their rural way of life. Most institutions either downplay or fail to mention this "concept of rurality" in their advertisements. The baseline template also failed to address the situational context of an institution. The 15 presidents argued that advertisements must emphasize the current status of the organization and its future goals and challenges, to help applicants understand where the institution is, where it wants to go, and what factors might serve as barriers in getting there. Rural CCs should use this situational context to identify the professional qualities listed in a presidential job advertisement. This feedback, coupled with inputs focused on other aspects related to the professional qualities needed by a rural CC president, resulted in a new format for future job advertisements. This format utilizes the concept of rurality and the situational context of the organization to identify specific professional qualities that will maximize the potential for a good fit between a president and the institutional mission, location, culture, and constituencies.Item Exercising change : investigating the changes in physical activity of undergraduate students(2012-12) O'Connor, Megan Diane; Keating, Xiaofen; Worthy, Mary JoWhen it comes to researching the physical activity levels of college students, there seem to be very few studies that truly depict and show the ranges of physical activity throughout a college student’s life. This statement has helped propelled me to collect and analyze data in order to see what the physical activity is like for an undergraduate college student at the University of Texas. Researchers have discovered that many college students have reported understanding the benefits of physical activity, but that they report that there are many barriers in their daily life that thrust physical activity into the backseat as a priority (Lopez, Gallegos, & Extremera, 2010). Knowing that some college students will ignore physical activity, regardless of the health-related benefits, urges us to further discover the attitude of college students towards physical activity and what factors seem to have the most affect, whether positively or negatively, when it comes to their decisions on physical activity. Many university students decrease their PA levels (Gyurcsik, Bray, & Brittain, 2004; Keating et al., 2005; McArthur & Raedeke, 2009). Knowing this, I seek to answer the question, “What happens to the levels of physical activity throughout an undergraduate student’s life and what are the contributing factors to their level of physical activity?” Researchers noted that a healthy college-aged student should be participating in at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity at least 5 days per week (Nelson, 2007). My thesis is an analysis of daily and weekly activity, as well as what kinds of physical activity college students like and do not, the way in which they participate, either independently or with friends, as well as where they partake in physical activity. My subjects answered questions based on their physical activity levels throughout their college years. The subjects ranged between first and fifth year undergraduate students, which allowed me to get some insight as to how their physical activity levels have changed throughout the duration of their college careers.Item Exploring counternarratives: African American student perspectives on aspirations and college access through a critical process of narrative inquiry(2009-08) Hayes, Danielle Christi; Young, Michelle D.This dissertation explored the perspectives of African American youth aspirations for college, their support systems, and their academic and social development towards college. The narratives of 7 student participants were used to gather perspectives of their supports and school circumstances in order to understand how some youth overcome or navigate the path towards higher education. This exploratory study was situated around two primary research questions: (a) In what ways do student aspirations intersect with capacity building systems (supports and interventions) for college, and (b) how does that intersection impact the academic and social development of students aspiring towards college? This study contributed to two areas. The first area had to do with providing an outlet for African American youth’s perspectives, particularly on the role that their aspirations and support systems play in their ability to access college. In the liberating tradition of critical race framework, accessing the experiences and perspectives “of the people” is the defining element of this study. We often hear about the pitfalls of minority students; their families and the communities from which they hail. There is general emphasis on this deficit perspective as the public education system strains under a multitude of contending factors. This dissertation, through the narratives of students, explored what students believed to work, what they perceived to fail, and the direction that their perspectives might contribute towards improved policy and practice. Thus, a second potential contribution of this study is its application for policy studies in that a participant-centered perspective is articulated. This multiframed approach demonstrated a more informed space from which to shape policy.Item Exploring the relationships between self-determination, willingness to disclose, and attitudes towards requesting accommodations in self-disclosure decisions of university students with learning disabilities(2012-08) Cole, Emma Victoria; Cawthon, Stephanie W.; Emmer, Edmund T.; Falbo, Toni L.; Tharinger, Deborah J.; Way, Pamela j.The number of students with learning disabilities (SLD) at post-secondary institutions continues to grow. Research has found that SLD who use accommodations at their post-secondary institution are more successful in university than those who do not. Yet, research suggests that SLD do not request accommodations at expected levels. Disability self-disclosure is important to SLD because they need to self-disclose their disability to university personnel to obtain accommodations. The reasons for lower levels of self-disclosure by SLDs to university personnel remain unclear. Self-determination, attitudes towards requesting accommodations, and level of self-disclosure (i.e., psychological factors) has individually been identified as possible factors that affect disability disclosure. To date, no study has investigated the effects of these factors on SLD disability disclosure in higher education. This study’s purpose was to investigate differences in psychological factors between two SLD disclosure groups (i.e., no disclosure and university and classroom disclosure). In addition, the study examined what factors SLDs consider when deciding if they will self-disclose their disability to university personnel. To achieve these goals, 31 undergraduate students with learning disabilities completed a mixed methods study comprised of quantitative scales and a qualitative interview. The Self-Disclosure Scale, the Attitudes Towards Requesting Accommodations Scale, and the Revised Self-Disclosure Scale were utilized to measure psychological factors. A 30 minute semi-structured interview was administered to 15 participants to further explore what factors SLD take into consideration when making self-disclosure decisions. Results indicate that the total scores on the Attitude Towards Requesting Accommodations scale, Self-Determination Scale, and the Self-Disclosure Scale were significantly different between self-disclosure groups. Data from student interviews uncovered nine factors that seemed to influence SLDs’: (a) decision to disclose and (b) how deeply they disclosed. Four key qualitative findings that arose from this study were: (a) all SLD report having extensive academic difficulty; (b) students who do not disclose seem to rely solely on informal compensating mechanisms rather than formal accommodations; (c) even in favorable circumstances SLDs may not wish to disclose their disability; and (d) SLD experiences with faculty seem to influence why some students disclose more deeply while other students disclose at a surface level.Item "Hips don't lie" : Mexican American female students' identity construction at The University of Texas at Austin(2012-08) Portillo, Juan Ramon; Straubhaar, Joseph D.; Hogan, KristenWhile a university education is sold to students as something anyone can achieve, their particular social location influences who enters this space. Mexican American women, by virtue of their intersecting identities as racialized women in the US, have to adopt a particular identity if they are to succeed through the educational pipeline and into college. In this thesis, I explore the mechanics behind the construction of this identity at The University of Texas at Austin. To understand how this happens, I read the experiences of six Mexican American, female students through a Chicana feminist lens, particularly Anzaldúa’s mestiza consciousness. I discovered that if Mexicana/Chicana students are to “make it,” they have to adopt a “good student, nice Mexican woman” identity. In other words, to be considered good students, Mexican American women must also adopt a code of conduct that is acceptable to the white-centric and middle-class norms that dominate education, both at a K-12 level and at the university level. This behavior is uniquely tied to the social construction of Mexican American women as a threat to the United States because of their alleged hypersexuality and hyperfertility. Their ability to reproduce, biologically and culturally, means that young Mexican women must be able to show to white epistemic authorities that they have their sexuality and gender performance “under control.” However, even if they adopt this identity, their presence at the university is policed and regulated. As brown women, they are trespassers of a space that has historically been constructed as white and male. This results in students and faculty engaging in microaggressions that serve to Other the Mexican American women and erect new symbolic boundaries that maintain a racial and gender hierarchy in the university. While the students do not just accept these rules, adopting the identity of “good student, nice Mexican woman” limits how the students can defend themselves from microaggressions or challenge the racial and gender structure. Nevertheless, throughout this thesis I demonstrate that even within the constraints of the limited identity available to the students, they still resist dominant discourses and exercise agency to change their social situation.Item Identity and meaning making of student veterans transitioning to college(2012-08) Green, Leigh; Bradley, Loretta J.; Parr, Jerry; Duemer, Lee S.Student veterans are returning to higher education institutions in increasing numbers with the advent of the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill. With over 1.64 million veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) eligible to enter higher education, the campus community needs more information on the needs of enrolling veterans. The purpose of this study is increase the knowledge base of the identity and meaning making of student veterans as it relates to their transition into university life. Research questions focused on transition issues, identity and meaning making of student veterans as they transitioned from combat deployments to college. Participants included veterans who had been deployed as combat veterans during the OIF and OEF campaigns and were attending the research institution at the time of the study. Qualitative research methods were utilized to gain a personal understanding of the participants’ perceptions of their transition, identity, and meaning making experiences. Grounded research directed the methodological basis for the research since it dictates a constant comparative method when analyzing data. Kegan’s Order’s of Consciousness guided the interpretation on the student veterans’ perception of their meaning making structure. Results concluded that student veterans viewed themselves as separate from the campus community. The perceptions of transition issues from this study are divided among the following five themes: (1) Maturity, (2) Camaraderie, (3) Frustration with the College Experience, (4) Structure and Routine, and (5) Invisibility and Isolation. Additionally, student veterans illustrated the third and fourth stage of Kegan’s Order’s of Consciousness. Recommendations for future practice include educating the campus community on the needs of student veterans, promoting programs that assist the transition of student veterans to campus, investigating the needs of female veterans, and incorporating the multicultural counseling competencies into interactions with student veterans.Item The impact of suicide prevention gatekeeper training on college students(2011-08) Swanbrow Becker, Martin Alan; Drum, David J.; McCarthy, ChristopherDespite its potential to enhance the mental health of college student populations, the efficacy of gatekeeper programs in connecting suicidal students with professional help is unclear. Potential negative side effects of peer helping programs, such as gatekeeper training, are rarely examined and there is not a sufficient body of evidence documenting the efficacy or safety of peer helping programs, despite their widespread use. The challenge of implementing a safe and effective peer based gatekeeper campus suicide prevention effort lies in balancing the benefits of connecting suicidal students to professional help more often and sooner, with the potential adverse mental health impacts of participation on gatekeepers. This study examines how a gatekeeper training program might increase suicidal student help seeking and measures the mental health impact of participation on Resident Assistants (RAs) trained in suicide prevention. This study will explore whether a more intensive helping role by the RA amplifies the effect of referring and securing professional help for suicidal students. This study also measures how differing the intensity of help provided by RAs impacts the gatekeepers’ own stress and suicidality levels. RAs will be trained under high versus low intensity helping conditions. RAs in the low intensity helping condition will be trained to identify potentially suicidal students and refer them for professional help. RAs in the high intensity helping condition will be trained to identify potentially suicidal students, engage them in a quasi-professional helping role, and refer them to professional help. This study will also explore whether promotion of telephone counseling as a helping resource will impact referrals to and utilization of professional help, either in-person or through telephone counseling.Item Influence of observation of true stuttering and self-disclosure on college professors' perception of students who stutter(2015-05) Reese, Daniel Martin; Byrd, Courtney T.; Hampton, ElizabethResearch has demonstrated that college professors rate hypothetical students who stutter more negatively than college students who do not stutter. To date, no studies have explored perceptions when observing actual students who stutter. Furthermore, self-disclosure has been proven to influence listener perception. The primary purpose of the present study is to investigate the role self-disclosure has on the perception of college professors.Item Master Portfolio for Interdisciplinary Master Degree(2013-04) Lin, Annie Y.; Crews, Charles R.; Elkins, Leann; Mulsow, MiriamThe relationship between Counselor Education, Special Education, and Human Development and Family Studies as they relate to college student-athletes in various aspects. Some aspects involve the self-efficacy theory and the negative perceptions that non-student athletes have of student-athletes. Other aspects involve the challenges that student-athletes have to overcome in higher education including the media, transitions from high school to college, and learning disabilities. Included in this portfolio are works done throughout the writer’s graduate education. Personal experiences have been drawn from working closely with college student-athletes at Texas Tech University’s Marsha Sharp Center giving the writer first-hand experience in this field focusing specifically on tutoring and counseling student-athletes. The writer is pursuing a professional field working with college student-athletes by helping them with counseling, learning disabilities, transitions, academics, and time-management.Item Mexican-American college women and their perceptions on sexuality in the U.S.(2012-05) Arreaga, Angie; Rodriguez, Néstor; Torres, RebeccaDiscussion between Mexican migrant mothers and Mexican-American daughters in the United States and their changing perceptions of sexuality were studied. Literature review is presented to give the reader insight into the cultural, media, music and identity issues faced by Mexican-American women and how these aspects affect their perceptions of sexuality. Sixteen Mexican-American college women volunteered to complete a questionnaire about their experiences discussing sexuality with their mothers. Analysis of the responses through use of quotes from literature and examples of study participant responses were used to understand the experiences shared by these women. The results showed that the mothers were not explicitly discussing sexuality with their daughters, but that the daughters were getting their information from other sources such as friends, school, and media. The conclusions that were drawn from the literature review and questionnaire responses are that Mexican-American daughters are blending their mother’s ideas as well as their own in shaping their perceptions on sexuality. The literature review depicts this blending through works from Mexican-American women.Item Motivation correlates of exercise in college women(2012-05) Gardner, Julia Katherine; Holahan, Carole K.; Jowers, EsbellePossible selves represent how people think about their potential and about their future states (Markus & Nurius, 1986). To explore the cognitive processes involved in the decision to exercise, the possible selves (hoped-for and feared) of 93 undergraduate women at the University of Texas at Austin were examined, as were two self-efficacy constructs – scheduling and barrier self-efficacy. Most important hoped-for and feared possible selves related to exercise were categorized and analyzed. Physical and Health categories, followed by Personal and Spiritual, Occupation and Education, and Body Image were most commonly listed for hoped-for selves, while categories of Body Image, Health, and Personal and Spiritual, were most commonly cited for most important feared possible selves. Participants rated the importance, self-efficacy and outcome expectancy of their most important hoped-for and feared selves highly. Participants also felt highly efficacious in overcoming scheduling and barrier obstacles with regard to exercise. Comparisons were made across exercise levels, differentiating between those meeting or not meeting the recommended level of physical activity (Godin, 2011). Multiple logistic regression analyses, controlling for age, were used to test for significant relationships between motivational variables and exercise. Steps taken to achieve the most important possible self (odds ratio [OR] = 1.88, 95% CI = 1.21 – 2.92), steps taken to avoid the most important feared self (OR = 1.58, 95% CI = 1.04 – 2.40), scheduling self-efficacy (OR = 1.58, 95% CI = 1.18 – 2.10), and barrier self-efficacy (OR = 1.58, 95% CI = 1.04 – 2.40) were related to meeting the recommended level of physical activity, compared to not meeting the recommended level. These cross-sectional results suggest that the incorporation of college women’s possible selves and other motivational factors into interventions to increase women’s physical activity may be a promising area for future research.Item Paths to success: A comparison of the strategies and social supports of first-generation and non-first-generation college students(2012-08) Lawson, Krystal; Johnson, Doyle P.; Dunham, Charlotte C.; Maloney, PatriciaThis study examines the consistency of students’ self-identification as first-generation or non-first-generation status with that definition which defines a first-generation student as one whose parents have no more than a high school education. It explores the connections between this self-identification, and the student’s support networks, support definitions, and resources used to make friends while in college. The study was carried out at a large southwestern university, and the sample was recruited from a sociology capstone course that consisted of graduating sociology majors (N=20). The data were collected through semi-structured one-time interviews that took 30-60 minutes and an analysis of the respondents' self-described support networks. The results of this study show that one of the definitions used in the literature and employed here to identify students of first-generation college students remains lacking in its ability to identify the components of the first-generation status that would allow a more accurate and realistic definition to be created. Specifically, it was found that those students who perceived themselves as first-generation college students have less diverse networks, focus more on emotional, financial, and social supports in their support definitions, and report using dormitories, class, and work as their main venues for making friends. Non-first-generation students have more diverse networks, focus more on emotional, financial, advisory, and academic support in their support definitions, and report using networking through friends, dorms, extracurricular activities, high school friends, and class as resources used to make friends.Item Reframing the academic trends of African American college students : applications of academic disidentification(2013-05) Hurst, Ashley Nicole; Bentley, Keisha L.The current report examines the components and implications of the existing research utilizing the theory of academic disidentification. The theory of academic disidentification proposes a process that accounts for the academic disparity between the academic achievement levels of White and ethnic minority students. The premise hypothesizes that academic achievement only results from an individual’s adaptive integration of their performance in the academic domain with their identity. For ethnic minority students the academic domain presents frequent exposure to stereotype threat whether it occurs on exams or in class participation. Over time, the accumulation of these experiences promote a maladaptive process by which ethnic minority students separate their overall identity from the academic domain, thus undermining the importance of academic achievement. In addition to the analysis of the research, this paper propose a process of academic disidentification and present implications for counselors working with ethnic minority students.Item The role of social context on future orientation and college preparatory behaviors among Texas high school students : Latino-White differences(2014-05) DeDonato, Eric Edward; Cance, Jessica DuncanPrior research shows a positive correlation between years of education and overall health. Historically, Latinos have had lower levels of educational attainment than Whites and other ethnic groups in the United States. The current study explored how a student’s social context in sophomore year is associated with his/her college aspirations and college expectations, and how these factors then influence subsequent college preparatory behaviors and college application in senior year. Differences in the role of social context were explored in Latino students and White students. Secondary data analysis was conducted using the Texas Higher Education Opportunity Project (THEOP) dataset, which provided longitudinal data for 2,875 Texas high school students. Hopes and Fears theory of future orientation was used as the guiding framework for the analysis of future orientation. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to address the research questions. College preparatory behaviors and college application at senior year had the strongest associations with the social contextual variables at sophomore year that were most proximal to the students, namely family and friends. For all students, iv grade point average, graduation track, parent education in sophomore year were all significant predictors of college preparatory behaviors and college application in senior year. Parental encouragement to go to college in sophomore year was a significant predictor of college preparatory behaviors and college application at senior year among Latino students, but not among White students. Conversely, having more than three friends who planned to attend college or having a sibling who dropped out of high school was predictive of college preparatory behaviors and college application among White students, but not among Latino students. Implications for interventions and future research are discussed.