Summit Institutional Repository @ PSU
Summit Institutional Repository @ Plymouth State University is a digital repository for gathering, indexing, preserving, and making available a treasury of research and scholarly work generated by PSU faculty, students and staff. Based on the principle of Open Access, one of Summit's key missions is to ensure that these scholarly and creative endeavors are accessible to the widest possible audience.
These collections are freely available, organized, made accessible by PSU's Lamson Library. They demonstrate the summit of academic production at the University and its commitment to encourage transformational teaching and connected learning, to advance the Plymouth State University motto - Ut prosim (That I may serve). The content is available to be used responsibly under fair use US copyright law for personal and educational purposes or with the permission of the authors and/or copyright holders. For more information about submitting your work to Summit, please contact us at psu-lamson-repository@plymouth.edu.
Recent Submissions
Item Exploring the Impact of Identity-Based Student Organizations on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) Spectrum Minority Students’ Integration, Belonging, and Academic Persistence in Higher Education(2024-08-29)AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF Caitlyn R. Veenstra for the degree of Doctor of Education Presented on August 29, 2024 Title: Exploring the Impact of Identity-Based Student Organizations on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) Spectrum Minority Students’ Integration, Belonging, and Academic Persistence in Higher Education Abstract approved: ___________________________________________________ Scott Mantie, PhD, Dissertation Committee Chair This exploratory, mixed-method study examines the role of identity-based student organizations in supporting sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) spectrum minority students in higher education. Through convenience sampling, 44 participants were surveyed. Open coding revealed four key themes influencing student engagement: community building, advocacy and leadership, personal and professional growth, and inclusivity and resources. Descriptive analysis showed a significant 1.38-point increase in students’ sense of belonging after joining these organizations, suggesting a positive impact on respondents’ overall post-secondary experience. Notably, 76.9% of respondents intended to continue their involvement, with graduation being the primary reason for discontinuation. Identity-based student organizations were found to be vital pillars for fostering a sense of belonging, advocating for inclusivity, and promoting personal and professional growth for SOGI spectrum minority students.Item Evaluation of the START Plan, a Mental Health Crisis Risk Rating Scale for People With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities(2024-05)AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF Andrea Caoili for the degree of Doctor of Education, Learning, Leadership, and Community Presented on May 13, 2024 Title: Evaluation of the START Plan, a Mental Health Crisis Risk Rating Scale for People With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Abstract approved: ______________________________________________________________________________ Scott Mantie, PhD, Dissertation Committee Chair People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are at increased risk of having mental health conditions compared to the general population. This risk, coupled with disparities in access to community-based mental health services results in higher crisis service utilization. There are few assessment instruments that consider the ecological context of mental health crises experienced by people with IDD. This observational, cross-sectional study takes place within the START (Systemic, Therapeutic, Assessment, Resources, and Treatment) program, a crisis prevention and intervention service for people with IDD and mental health conditions (IDD-MH). The study investigates the application of the START Plan, one of the primary assessment instruments used by START programs nationwide. The START Plan fills a unique gap by incorporating ecological factors that may contribute to crisis service use among this population. An existing data set (N = 6,397) from the START Information Reporting System was used. Chi-squared and a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) statistical tests were utilized to evaluate the relationship between START Plan scores and (a) reported sociodemographic characteristics (race, ethnicity, age, gender, living situation, and mental health iii diagnosis), (b) START crisis contacts, and (c) scores on the Aberrant Behavior Checklist. Findings indicate a relationship between mental health instability and age, race, living situation, and number of psychiatric diagnoses. This study also found the START Plan to have strong predictive and construct validity, indicating the potential for application of the START Plan across mental health crisis services designed for people with IDD.Item VERTICALLY INTEGRATED LIQUID AND THUNDERSTORM BEHAVIOR WITHIN THE PLYMOUTH, NH, REGION(2024-05)ABSTRACT VERTICALLY INTEGRATED LIQUID AND THUNDERSTORM BEHAVIOR WITHIN THE PLYMOUTH, NH, REGION by David E. S. Morin Plymouth State University, May, 2024 This thesis aimed to answer the question, “Can a storm’s cell based vertically integrated liquid (VIL) value at a certain location in relation to Plymouth, NH, act as a predictor of its behavior as it approaches town?” Previous work tried to connect storm cell behavior in the Plymouth region to stability indices, the height of the lifted condensation level (LCL), and the synoptic setup. VIL was chosen as the stratification variable for this thesis because of its connection with storm intensity and precipitation, leading to increased downdraft strength, which has been connected to the storm-splitting process in some studies. The goal of this thesis was to determine if an approaching storm’s VIL value can predict 1) whether or not it will hit Plymouth, 2) its behavior before reaching Plymouth, and 3) if it does hit, its behavior after Plymouth. Cells moving towards Plymouth within the 48 km radius domain were tracked. Their cell based VILs were recorded at each range ring within the domain, and the values were separated and compared (bulk statistics and box plots) for each region around Plymouth based on their behaviors. Based on the results of the majority of regions, higher VIL cells were more likely to hit Plymouth, while lower VIL cells generally had opposite results. In terms of behavior, higher VIL cells were most likely to split. Lower VIL cells xvi were most likely to dissipate, and medium VIL cells were most likely not to change behavior. Two case studies were examined to show the inconsistencies between the Storm Structure Product (SSP) (used for identifying cells and obtaining VIL) and manual interpretation of reflectivity.Item The Impact of Mindfulness on Stress Levels of Teachers and Students(2023-12)AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF Peihan Zhu for the degree of Doctor of Education in Learning, Leadership, and Community Presented on July 26, 2023 Title: The Impact of Mindfulness on Stress Levels of Teachers and Students Abstract approved: ________________________________________________ Christie Sweeney, Ed.D. Dissertation Committee Chair The purpose of this study was to understand the impact of mindfulness practices on the stress levels of teachers and students when those practices are integrated into the classroom in a systematic and purposeful manner. This study utilized qualitative case study methodology to investigate a mindfulness program’s impact on teachers and students. Data were collected using surveys, interviews, and school resources about the mindfulness program. Direct participants in this study were teaching/academic staff, administrative staff, and school administrators. Students were indirectly involved in this study. In this study, surveys were attempted by 46 teaching/academic staff and administrative staff. A total of three school administrators completed the surveys. Interviews were completed with five teaching/academic staff, one administrative staff, and two school administrators. The researcher also reviewed 21 student surveys designed, conducted, and provided by a wellness and social science educator at the school. The findings from this study have indicated that when mindfulness practices are implemented in a systematic and purposeful manner, as exemplified at the research site, THE IMPACT OF MINDFULNESS ON TEACHERS AND STUDENTS iii the program and the corresponding implementation of mindfulness practices demonstrated positive impacts on the stress reduction of teachers and students, while extending these impacts to administrators and the broader school community. Some examples of these positive impacts: teachers stated that practicing mindfulness transformed their teaching experiences, they felt less stressed, became more caring, and experienced improved relations with students; students stated practicing mindfulness helped them be calm, recenter, manage stress, and allowed them to resort to love and confidence; participating faculty/staff observed school administrators used mindfulness skills to connect the community as a whole; many participants described the mindfulness program at the school, along with the variety of mindfulness practices, helped foster a community of mutual understanding and connection.Item IDENTIFICATION AND PREDICTION OF COLD AIR DAMMING IN THE NORTHEAST UNITED STATES: A COMPARISON OF NUMERICAL MODELS(2024-05)ABSTRACT Cold air damming is a mesoscale phenomenon that occurs when a cold dome is created along the lee side of mountain ranges. Cold air becomes trapped in part because of low-level synoptic flow towards the lee side of mountains, preventing the cold dome from escaping. When this condition occurs, temperatures are cooler on the inside of the cold dome than those outside of the dome. Despite being a common weather phenomenon, cold air damming has eluded accurate detection and prediction by most numerical models. Common difficulties the models include: the timing of the event, the degree to which the trapped air is colder than the surrounding air, the precise location of the damming, and even failure of the model to detect cold air damming at all. Among the explanations for these model difficulties is that the grid spacing of the model may not be fine enough to resolve the phenomenon. Given the recognized limitations of past models, the goal of this research is to determine if more recent versions of commonly used weather models, such as the Global Forecast System (GFS) and the North American Mesoscale Forecast System (NAM), can more accurately forecast cold air damming. Twelve cold air damming events occurred over the winter of 2022 to 2023. The observations from these events were compared to the associated model runs by looking at the timing at the initiation of the damming, dissipation of the damming, and temperature difference. The NAM was superior at predicting cold air at KCON than the other stations compared to the GFS. On the other hand, the GFS had temperatures closer to the observed temperatures than the NAM. However, just because the models were able to predict cold air does not mean they were able to predict cold air damming occurring. xii Both models struggled to forecast cold air damming in the Northeast, having the colder air over the mountains or not in the area. In the end, findings indicate that these current models will need more refinement to substantially improve prediction of cold air damming in the Northeast.
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