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Title: Validity of the WII™ Balance Board in Comparison to a Force Platform for Balance Assesmant.
Creator: Bridgewater, Rawlins M.
Abstract / Description: Context: The Nintendo Wii Balance Board (WBB) has been used in clinics as an intervention tool for patients with balance disorders. The prevalence of the WBB is due to its low-cost and high engagement rates among patients. There are some studies that have evaluated the usefulness of the WBB as an assessment tool for balance. This study aims to provide substantial evidence regarding the validity of the WBB for assessing balance. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity...
Show moreContext: The Nintendo Wii Balance Board (WBB) has been used in clinics as an intervention tool for patients with balance disorders. The prevalence of the WBB is due to its low-cost and high engagement rates among patients. There are some studies that have evaluated the usefulness of the WBB as an assessment tool for balance. This study aims to provide substantial evidence regarding the validity of the WBB for assessing balance. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity of the WBB to assess balance by comparing it to a laboratory force platform. Design: Quantitative non-experimental criterion validity design Setting: FGCU Neuromuscular Laboratory Participants: Seventeen healthy male (n = 8) and female (n=9) subjects between the ages of 21 – 35 years (x̅ = 26  4 yrs) were recruited from the Florida Gulf Coast University College of Health Professions and Social Work. Measures: Subjects complete 6 balance tests on a WBB and laboratory force platform concurrently. Center of pressure (COP) path lengths were extracted from the two devices for analysis to determine whether or not a relationship existed. Results: The results indicated that there was a significant correlation between the WBB and the laboratory force platform COP path lengths (r.8). However, ICCs for bilateral stance were very low (0.127 and 0.441). Both the correlation coefficients and the ICCs were strong for single limb stance tasks, where COP path lengths tended to be longer. Conclusion: The WBB was found to have excellent correlation with the laboratory force platform but did not show significant agreement when COP path lengths were smaller. This indicates that WBB would be appropriate for detecting large deviations in COP but would be less appropriate for detecting smaller deviations in COP.
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Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: fgcu_ETD_0408
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Validity of Triage Risk Assessment at Lee County Probation Department.
Creator: Veasy, Ashley
Abstract / Description: Community corrections in the United States has undergone a rapid change in the last decade with many agencies adopting evidence based practices (EBP) supported by the risk-need-responsivity (RNR) model to provide better supervision of offenders. With the adoption of EBP, agencies have begun reporting a reduction in recidivism up to 30%. The Lee County Probation Department located in Fort Myers, FL received a federal grant to trial run the adoption of EBP. The Carey Group, an organization...
Show moreCommunity corrections in the United States has undergone a rapid change in the last decade with many agencies adopting evidence based practices (EBP) supported by the risk-need-responsivity (RNR) model to provide better supervision of offenders. With the adoption of EBP, agencies have begun reporting a reduction in recidivism up to 30%. The Lee County Probation Department located in Fort Myers, FL received a federal grant to trial run the adoption of EBP. The Carey Group, an organization dedicated to assisting agencies with EBP, provided motivational interviewing techniques and the implementation of a proxy triage risk assessment. The assessment is used to triage the risk levels of offenders to determine the defendants in need of further evaluation and more intense supervision. To determine the validity of the proxy tool, the assessment's results were compared to the violent risk appraisal guide (VRAG). Both assessments accurately categorized offenders 56% of the time. Using the recommended cutoff scores, the proxy triage risk assessment was effective in triaging the recommended 60% of offenders for further evaluation, with a total of 61.5% of the sample population requiring further assessment. Scoring the VRAG proved difficult because of a lack of sufficient resources. The current research suggests a need to follow up with the 61.5% of the sample population by using a need based assessment tool such as the Level of Service Inventory (LSI).
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: Veasy_fgcu_1743_10101
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Vertical funding equity in small and rural school districts.
Creator: Breakfield, Gary L.
Abstract / Description: There are no studies that focus on academic achievement in a rural, agricultural and sparsely populated area. Two small and rural Southwest Florida school districts depend on agriculture as the major type of employment for the residents. The most prevalent types of agriculture are sugar cane and orange production as well as various vegetables and cattle. The median incomes of the counties represented in this group are less than 80% of the state median income (United States Department of...
Show moreThere are no studies that focus on academic achievement in a rural, agricultural and sparsely populated area. Two small and rural Southwest Florida school districts depend on agriculture as the major type of employment for the residents. The most prevalent types of agriculture are sugar cane and orange production as well as various vegetables and cattle. The median incomes of the counties represented in this group are less than 80% of the state median income (United States Department of Agriculture, 2010). The purpose of this study is to analyze the academic achievement of students attending schools located within these two districts and ascertain if the state funding formula provides the resources necessary for vertical equity. Vertical equity is important as it provides students the opportunity to achieve at similar levels as their peers. Given the importance of the FCAT results to students, including retention in third grade and required passing scores in order to graduate from high school, vertical equity creates an environment where students from similar groups have similar opportunity to obtain passing scores and potentially graduate from high school.
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Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: fgcu_ETD_0522
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Wading Bird Occupancy of Mangroves Damaged by Hurricane Irma.
Creator: Cheadle, Gina
Abstract / Description: Wading birds occupy a variety of coastal and wetland ecosystems that provide resources to support their survival and breeding requirements. Along the coasts of Southwest Florida, wading bird communities are a conspicuous part of mangrove ecosystems. As the coastal avifauna of subtropical regions has evolved within an active storm regime, this study aimed to assess the suitability of damaged mangroves as a habitat for wading birds following the hit of Hurricane Irma in September 2017. Field...
Show moreWading birds occupy a variety of coastal and wetland ecosystems that provide resources to support their survival and breeding requirements. Along the coasts of Southwest Florida, wading bird communities are a conspicuous part of mangrove ecosystems. As the coastal avifauna of subtropical regions has evolved within an active storm regime, this study aimed to assess the suitability of damaged mangroves as a habitat for wading birds following the hit of Hurricane Irma in September 2017. Field observations were conducted in a two-month period from June 10 to August 10, 2018 at Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve and at the Ten Thousands Islands Wildlife Refuge in Collier County, Florida. Wading birds were counted along boat routes within both study sites. Wading bird presence, behavior, and position within vertical strata of mangrove vegetation were documented, along with the approximate extent of defoliation in the used habitat. Additionally, canopy density measurements were evaluated from directly under the mangroves. Data analysis evaluated wading bird presence, foraging behavior, and strata selection with respect to mangrove defoliation from a 10m vantage point; the same measures of wading bird presence, foraging behavior, and strata selection were also compared in relation to canopy cover measurements. For all objectives, Chi-Square and G-Test Goodness-of-Fit tests were used to compare ratios of observations among categorical variables. Shared patterns emerged between both sites, whereby wading birds demonstrated a distinct occupancy of mangrove prop roots, as well as a presence in mangroves with 51-75% mangrove defoliation and 51-100% canopy cover. Interestingly, wading birds in the Ten Thousand Islands indicated an aversion to 76-100% defoliated areas, suggesting that while wading birds have undoubtedly adapted to hurricane impacts throughout time, too much defoliation could make the area unsuitable for supporting their ecological needs. With anthropogenic climate change and global sea level rise posing major threats to wading birds due to alterations in hydrology and water depth, studies of wading birds within mangroves and other impacted habitats are critical to understanding the implications of global change for these coastal ecosystems. My findings that wading birds occupy moderately defoliated mangroves while avoiding severe defoliation enhances our understanding of how storms impact coastal ecosystems, knowledge that will become more and more relevant in an area of increasing hurricane frequency and intensity.
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Date Issued: 2020-06-02
Identifier: fgcu_ETD_0340
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Wartime Motivations: Great Britain, the American Civil War, and the Role of Personal Reasons for Backing the Confederacy.
Creator: Meinert, Christopher Sean
Abstract / Description: Many historians portray the British politicians who aided the Confederate States of America as doing so with a uniform reason. However, a closer look at their actions, statements, and writings reveals that each of these men not only held their own personal reasons for supporting the Confederacy, but that these interests influenced them more than did those of their nation. This is a historiographical gap which I intend to fill. Examinations of the personal and public writings of several...
Show moreMany historians portray the British politicians who aided the Confederate States of America as doing so with a uniform reason. However, a closer look at their actions, statements, and writings reveals that each of these men not only held their own personal reasons for supporting the Confederacy, but that these interests influenced them more than did those of their nation. This is a historiographical gap which I intend to fill. Examinations of the personal and public writings of several British leaders, as well as their actions, reveal that these reasons not only conform to their motivations but likewise demonstrate a strong conviction to beliefs which they held before the Civil War. Furthermore, these men came from varying ends of the political spectrum, indicating that this may not have been some sort of party line either.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: Meinert_fgcu_1743_10201
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: WET DETENTION PONDS FOR RESIDENTIAL STORMWATER RUNOFF TREATMENT: EFFECTIVENESS OF REGULATIONS AND WATER QUALITY IMPACTS, LEE COUNTY FLORIDA.
Creator: Liddick, Drew Garrett
Abstract / Description: Florida regulations require stormwater runoff from residential developments to be captured in wet detention ponds for the purpose of removing nutrients in runoff prior discharging to waters of the U.S. The design and operation of the ponds, however, is weakly regulated: regulations are in place only for ponds’ dimensions at the time of construction, leaving an open question about the ponds’ effectiveness over time at their intended purpose. Regulations also do not require monitoring of pond...
Show moreFlorida regulations require stormwater runoff from residential developments to be captured in wet detention ponds for the purpose of removing nutrients in runoff prior discharging to waters of the U.S. The design and operation of the ponds, however, is weakly regulated: regulations are in place only for ponds’ dimensions at the time of construction, leaving an open question about the ponds’ effectiveness over time at their intended purpose. Regulations also do not require monitoring of pond discharges so there is no regulatory database about their effectiveness, and few data have been produced by independent studies of water quality in these systems – none of it over lengthy periods of time that would readily support assessment of the ponds’ effectiveness. This research used three kinds of data to assess to the extent possible the effectiveness of a sample of south Florida residential stormwater ponds, and equally importantly, to investigate the capability of available data to conduct such an assessment. The first was a regulatory analysis to critically evaluate the rules to which the ponds are subject; to determine if those rules effectively specify the initial conditions; and to determine if those rules are being followed in permits filed for ponds in the target region. The second was a field investigation of pond geometry (surface area, length/width ratios, and bathymetry) of a sample of ponds to determine whether ponds in the target region, as built, conform to the rules, which supports an assessment of the regulatory effectiveness as implemented. The third was an analysis of the best available data on historical trends in water quality, for the largest possible sample of ponds, to assess whether those ponds that conform to the dimensional requirements of regulations are in fact more successful at removing nutrients than ponds that do not. Taken together these three analyses assess the effectiveness of the sample of ponds at their stated purpose, to the best extent possible given important limitations in available information. The research encompassed a sample of 14 ponds, which constituted the largest number of ponds with a reasonably long historical record of water quality data: at least seven years’ reported data over the period 2000-2015 from a limited, volunteer-based monitoring program in Lee County FL. The first research question was whether the regulatory system has been effective in attaining compliance by this sample of ponds. The answer is that it has not. One reason is that a pond in any one location is subject to rules from multiple agencies, with overlapping jurisdictions, have specified inconsistent, sometimes conflicting, standards and regulatory requirements. Compliance was irregular, as 11 of 14 target ponds failed to complete one or more essential paperwork requirements. Further, 12 of the 14 ponds failed to meet the regulations’ stated requirements for pond dimensions: the bathymetry analysis revealed that more than half of the sample of ponds far exceeded the regulatory-maximum depth. As other results of this research suggest, pond depth may be important in the ponds’ performance, so this is a crucial failure. The second research question was whether the geometry of the ponds, as measured for this research, displays any statistical relationship with water quality. That relationship, if demonstrated, supports the regulatory presumption that specifying ponds’ dimensions is a valid surrogate for specifying the proportion of nutrients removed. Water quality constituents analyzed included four compounds of phosphorous; six compounds of nitrogen; and chlorophyll-a. This research question requires the imperfect assumption that ponds with the highest measured nutrient concentrations are those achieving the least nutrient removal. A number of confounders could interfere with this assumption, but if a correlation were identified in the face of these confounders it could be meaningful. Simple regressions and simple correlations were conducted for each of the 11 measured constituents against 16 geometric parameters, for each of three statistical analyses. The analyses produced a total of 528 simple regression/correlation results. The one-constituent-to-one-geometric-parameter analyses showed none of the geometric measures, by themselves, explained more than a small amount of variation in constituents: only 72 analyses (14% of those attempted) achieved correlation coefficients (R2) with absolute value greater than 0.16. , Those that did attain this very modest correlation were nearly all associated with some measure of pond depth, either average depth; maximum depth; or proportion of the pond deeper than the regulatory target. Even those findings are questionable because of those 72 relationships, only 32 showed statistical significance of p < 0.10, and only 16 showed significance of p < 0.05, a proportion that cannot be distinguished from random variation. The data do not show evidence that ponds’ geometry has statistically significant relationships with concentration of nutrients or chlorophyll-a, suggesting that a regulatory approach that specifies pond geometry may not succeed at creating ponds that effectively remove nutrients. The third research question was whether ponds whose dimensions are the farthest from the regulatory requirements are also those with the greatest nutrient concentration, and thus, by our assumption, those achieving the least nutrient removal. If that were true it would suggest that regulations on pond geometry might at least prohibit construction of the least-effective ponds, if those regulations were followed. Here also the answer was they do not. The correlations that failed to support the second research question also failed to support this third question, but direct inspection of the individual ponds conclusively showed they do not conform to this hypothesis. Ponds deeper than the regulatory requirement were by far the most frequent violation, and the data show that deeper ponds do not have the highest concentrations of nutrients or chlorophyll. The deepest ponds in the sample included both some ponds with the highest, and some ponds with the lowest, concentrations of each of the nitrogen, phosphorous, and chlorophyll constituents. The ponds with the highest concentration of each of the eleven analyzed constituents included some with the greatest, and some with the least, depth divergence from the regulatory requirement. Even in this small sample, the findings were sufficient to answer this research question in the negative. The research concluded the available data do not justify the assumption, enshrined in Florida’s regulations, that as-built pond dimensions currently specified lead to removal of nutrients from residential stormwater runoff, and a sizable proportion of this small sample behaved as if there is no such relationship.
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Date Issued: 2018-06-05
Identifier: fgcu_ETD_0241
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: What Teachers Need: Teacher Career Stage and Job-embedded Professional Development Delivered by Reading Coaches.
Creator: Fletcher, Colleen Marie
Abstract / Description: Helping teachers improve their instructional practice is often the focus of professional development studies. However, it is not clear which types of professional development are effective in impacting teachers’ instructional practice. The purpose of this study is to examine the preferred delivery methods and characteristics that teachers at varying career stages have for job-embedded professional development delivered by reading coaches. However, coaching as professional development model...
Show moreHelping teachers improve their instructional practice is often the focus of professional development studies. However, it is not clear which types of professional development are effective in impacting teachers’ instructional practice. The purpose of this study is to examine the preferred delivery methods and characteristics that teachers at varying career stages have for job-embedded professional development delivered by reading coaches. However, coaching as professional development model has not been researched in relation to the professional development needs of teachers at early, middle, and late career stages. This mixed-methods study used an explanatory sequential mixed methods design. The quantitative component of this study was conducted using a Likert type survey, Career Stages Potential Impact on Job-Embedded Professional Development Delivered by a Reading Coach. The survey data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, ANOVA and Factor Analysis. Part I of the survey focused on preferred delivery methods, while Part II focused on preferred characteristics. The qualitative component of this study was conducted using semi-structured interviews and a focus group. Participants’ responses were coded using open and in vivo coding to determine themes. The quantitative results suggested there was not a statistically significant relationship between career stage and preferred professional development delivery methods and characteristics for job-embedded professional development delivered by a reading coach. However, several themes emerged during the qualitative portion of this research. These themes included differentiation, coach relationship, collaboration, teacher practice, scope of the professional development and the stigma of coaching. Key words: mixed methods, professional development, coaching, career stage, differentiation, coach relationship, collaboration, stigma of coaching
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Date Issued: 2020-01-12
Identifier: fgcu_ETD_0321
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: A COMPARISON OF INDOOR AND OUTDOOR EDUCATION IN NON-FORMAL ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION.
Creator: Phillips, Honey
Abstract / Description: Children’s ability to learn and retain material indoors was compared to outdoor learning subjects using a short, ten question survey before and after a lecture on Florida butterflies. The research question was, does outdoor education improve student learning gains through engagement of multiple senses, compared to an indoor lesson that utilizes text and lecture, on students’ understanding of Florida native butterfly species and their lifecycle? The outdoor lecture engaged participants inside...
Show moreChildren’s ability to learn and retain material indoors was compared to outdoor learning subjects using a short, ten question survey before and after a lecture on Florida butterflies. The research question was, does outdoor education improve student learning gains through engagement of multiple senses, compared to an indoor lesson that utilizes text and lecture, on students’ understanding of Florida native butterfly species and their lifecycle? The outdoor lecture engaged participants inside a butterfly house at Rotary Park where participants could see, touch and smell items described in the lectures. The indoor lecture was given at the Youth Center and Yacht Club using a PowerPoint presentation in a classroom or auditorium at two locations, and a fourth location, Oasis Schools was tested without treatment for additional data on what children already know about butterflies and butterfly lifecycles. Statistical analysis was conducted using ANOVA, followed by a t-test comparing age groups, location and gender for both pre-test scores and learning difference from pre-post-test. Individual questions were also analyzed using Chi Square to determine if there was a relationship between indoor and outdoor learning methods comparing age groups. The 7-9-year-old age group scored significantly lower than the 10-11- year-old and 12-13-year-old age groups when comparing pre-test scores. The Youth Center group scored significantly higher when comparing pre-test scores than the other locations. Rotary Park and the Yacht Club groups scored significantly higher than the Youth Center group when comparing difference of pre-post-test scores. In the age group 7-9-year-old, a positive correlation was found between indoor and outdoor treatments for two questions, signifying a relationship to this age group and treatment. In the age group 10-11-year-old, a positive correlation was found between indoor and outdoor treatments for questions two related to sensory engagement. In the age group 12-13-year-old, a positive correlation was found between indoor and outdoor treatments for one question related to sensory engagement.
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Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: Phillips_fgcu_1075
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: BRIDGING THE GAP: A QUALITATIVE PHENOMENOLOGY FOCUSING ON THE PERSPECTIVES OF PRE-SERVICE AND FIRST-YEAR TEACHERS.
Creator: Scrant, Jennifer Nicole, College of Education
Abstract / Description: Retaining first-year teachers in the school district under study was challenging. During the 2013-2014 school year, approximately 309 newly hired teachers separated from the district. This number slightly decreased in 2015-2016, with approximately 307 new first-year teachers hired and 30 of these newly hired teachers separating from the district during that year (District, 2017). Most recently, during 2016-2017, approximately 372 new first-year teachers were hired and 23 of these newly hired...
Show moreRetaining first-year teachers in the school district under study was challenging. During the 2013-2014 school year, approximately 309 newly hired teachers separated from the district. This number slightly decreased in 2015-2016, with approximately 307 new first-year teachers hired and 30 of these newly hired teachers separating from the district during that year (District, 2017). Most recently, during 2016-2017, approximately 372 new first-year teachers were hired and 23 of these newly hired teachers separated from the district (District, 2017). Two in-depth interviews and one focus group were conducted to capture the lived experiences of eight pre-service teachers entering into their first-year of teaching in the school district. Despite their teacher preparation program, these first-year teachers were caught off guard by the realities of teaching Three common themes permeated throughout the study were teacher preparation, classroom management and administrative support. Each participant also experienced three of Moir’s Phases of First-Year Teaching; Anticipation, Survival and Reflection. The findings from this study provided insight to the university, district personnel and administrative teams about how to bridge the gap from being a pre-service teacher to becoming a first-year teacher. It was critical that administrative teams, district personnel, and teacher educators were aware of the recommendations so they could continue to enhance or modify their current programs, professional development trainings and support systems for first-year teachers. Based on the participants’ lived experiences, areas for improvement included improved networking, review of current systems or programs, and extended field experience.
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Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: Scrant_fgcu_1743_10262
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Integrating Motivational Interviewing into Tobacco Cessation Counseling: Case Report.
Creator: Stasi, Jenna Mae
Abstract / Description: Introduction: Physical therapists are in a position to provide tobacco cessation counseling to their patients as being promotors of health and wellness. However, physical therapists have low rates of tobacco cessation counseling due to role awareness, diffusion of responsibility, and time constraints. Motivational interviewing is a component of tobacco cessation counseling which provides a patient-centered approach to problem solving throughout the patient’s quit attempt. Methods: One patient...
Show moreIntroduction: Physical therapists are in a position to provide tobacco cessation counseling to their patients as being promotors of health and wellness. However, physical therapists have low rates of tobacco cessation counseling due to role awareness, diffusion of responsibility, and time constraints. Motivational interviewing is a component of tobacco cessation counseling which provides a patient-centered approach to problem solving throughout the patient’s quit attempt. Methods: One patient was provided tobacco cessation counseling by a physical therapy student over the course of five sessions, which included motivational interviewing. Results: The patient gradually decreased his tobacco usage throughout the course of treatment, but discontinued counseling following the fifth session. The patient’s Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence score initially was 7 and decreased to 4. Discussion: It is unclear as to why the patient discontinued counseling or their overall success rate. The patient’s decrease in tobacco use could also be attributed to several factors. Intensive counseling as outlined in this case report may not be feasible in a normal physical therapy session. Conclusion: In this case report the patient decreased tobacco use and demonstrated the feasibility of physical therapy led tobacco cessation counseling. Future studies should serve to investigate the efficacy of tobacco cessation counseling as compared to other variables, seek to find a way to efficiently deliver tobacco cessation counseling, or investigate patient perceptions of tobacco cessation counseling.
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Date Issued: 2018
Identifier: Stasi_fgcu_1743_10286
Format: Document (PDF)

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