Browsing by Subject "knowledge"
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Item College students?rceptions of the national animal identification system(2009-05-15) Long, Jeanie MarieThe purpose of this study was to determine awareness, knowledge, and perceptions of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) among college students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University. Since the issue of a governmentsponsored electronic national identification system for livestock is relatively new, many pros and cons exist regarding increased biosecurity and increased surveillance by the government. While many adult producer groups have expressed their concerns over the implications of the proposed identification system, little attention has been focused on future producers?youth and college students. This study investigated how college students gathered information about livestock industry issues from mass media or other resources, and how the students? awareness and knowledge of the identification system influenced their perceptions of the NAIS. The sample population consisted of students enrolled in courses related to animal agriculture and production during the spring 2007 semester at Texas A&M University. Stratified random sampling was used to determine participants, and a total of 92 students responded to the survey. The strata were animal science majors and non-animal science majors, and upperclassmen and lowerclassmen. An online, self-administered survey was used to collect data from the participants. The survey consisted of close-ended and open-ended questions; a pilot study of students with similar majors and classification as the sample established face validity of the instrument. Descriptive statistics, correlations, and one-way ANOVA were used to examine the data. Major findings were that as a group, students were somewhat aware of the NAIS, and were knowledgeable of general NAIS concepts. Students disagreed with the statement that they are well-informed about the NAIS. Students? perceptions of the NAIS were positively associated with their awareness of the NAIS. Livestock leadership experiences (4-H or FFA membership, livestock show team member, exhibitor experience, and youth livestock organization member) had positive moderate correlations with NAIS awareness. Livestock exhibitor experience had a moderate correlation with perception of the NAIS. University professors, Internet, and family members were preferred information sources. Opinion leaders? influence as information sources affected students? awareness and perceptions of the NAIS. Cooperative Extension, private organizations, and university professors were all moderately correlated with students? awareness of the NAIS. University professors had a positive, yet low correlation with students? perceptions of the NAIS.Item School Nurses' Role as Opinion Leaders Regarding the HPV Vaccine for Youth(2013-06-17) Rosen, Brittany LeighThe most common sexually transmitted infection for both males and females is the human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV is responsible for nearly all cervical cancers. Currently, an HPV vaccine is available; however, HPV vaccination rates for US adolescents are dismal. School nurses serve as the person connecting medical and school communities, and are a critical component in assisting families traverse the medical and educational systems. Thus, there is reason to assume school nurses can be key opinion leaders regarding the HPV vaccine. The purpose of this study was to: (1) explain how the Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) theory explains school nurses' roles as opinion leaders regarding the HPV vaccine; (2) document current literature regarding healthcare providers' perspectives and practice regarding the HPV vaccine; and (3) evaluate school nurses' knowledge, attitudes, perceptions of being an opinion leader and professional practice regarding the HPV vaccine for youth. DOI states opinion leaders influence the rate of an innovation (e.g., the HPV vaccine). We argue school nurses are opinion leaders for the HPV vaccine because of their unique leadership position through their cross-disciplinary understanding of the educational and health systems. The systematic literature review included 28 studies of healthcare providers. The main barrier, vaccine cost, was identified in 12 reports. Additionally, females and older adolescents were more frequently vaccinated than males and younger adolescents. To examine school nurses' knowledge, attitudes, perceptions and professional practice regarding the HPV vaccine, the study included a sample of 413 school nurses. Structural equation modeling revealed knowledge influenced attitudes, attitudes affected perceptions and professional practices, and perceptions predicted professional practice. Furthermore, the perceptions variable was found to be a partial mediator in the model. Practitioners designing programs to engage school nurses in disseminating HPV vaccine education may benefit from questioning whether their programs might be emphasizing non-crucial elements for influencing vaccine dissemination practice (e.g., knowledge) and de-emphasizing influential elements such as attitudes and perceptions.Item The effects of nutrition education and gardening on attitudes, preferences and knowledge of 2nd-5th graders regarding fruits and vegetables(Texas A&M University, 2006-04-12) Nolan, Geralyn A.Child obesity has become a national concern. Obesity in children ages 6-17 has more than doubled in the past 30 years. Only 20% of children today consume the recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables. This trend is even more pronounced in minority populations. Past studies have reported that a horticulture-based curriculum, including gardening, can improve children's attitudes toward eating fruits and vegetables. To investigate whether children of a minority population can benefit from gardening supplemented with a curriculum on nutrition, research was conducted with elementary schools in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas (Hidalgo County). Elementary school teachers participating in this research agreed to have school gardens and complete all activities in a curriculum on nutrition provided to them through the Texas Extension Service. One hundred forty one children in the participating schools completed a pre- and posttest evaluating their attitudes and snack preferences toward fruits and vegetables and their knowledge before and after gardening supplemented with information on nutrition. Statistically significant differences were detected between pre- and posttest scores for all three variables. After comparing pre-and posttest scores, it was concluded that gardening with supplemental instruction, had a positive effect on all three variables including students attitudes and snack preferences toward fruits and vegetables and their knowledge of nutrition.Item Toward a Regulative Virtue Epistemology for the Theory and Practice of Education(2012-10-19) Ortwein, Mark JasonThis dissertation develops and explores how a particular variety of virtue epistemology (VE) applies to the theory and practice of education. To this end, several key issues are addressed: knowledge and epistemology, knowledge in education, virtue and culture, and the application of a particular variety of VE to education. Furthermore, this dissertation employs a philosophical methodology based in theoretical work from two disciplines?philosophy and education. In Chapter I, I explicate the purpose of this dissertation and provide a rationale for pursuing this project. I also clarify some key terminology, discuss some delimiting factors, and offer chapter previews. In Chapter II, I discuss how Edmond Gettier challenged the standard definition of knowledge as justified true belief. This resulted in the development of virtue-based epistemologies. Having distinguished between several forms of VE, I conclude this chapter by advancing regulative virtue epistemology (RVE). In Chapter III, I provide a conceptual and historical overview of the concept of knowledge in the specific context of educational theory. This discussion provides important context for the application of RVE to educational matters. In Chapter IV, I consider how the concept of virtue is understood in several diverse cultural contexts. Here I ameliorate a potential worry?that virtue is a distinctly Western concept. Finally, in Chapter V, I apply RVE to the theory and practice of education. It is shown that RVE has important implications for the epistemic aims of education?that is, the ultimate knowledge-related purposes of education. Specifically, I find that understanding offers a more holistic account of educational theorizing, and places greater responsibility on teachers and students in their educational activities. I also conclude that RVE widens the aims of education to include other epistemic goods. I then demonstrate that communication?an important feature of education?is also regulated by intellectual virtue. Finally, I present two proposals for teaching from an RVE perspective, and find that each has particular strengths and weaknesses. I conclude with some areas for future research.