The Graduate College

Dissertation Defenses

---

Listing of current doctoral dissertation defenses below and archives. Information includes candidate name, degree, department, title, committee, date of defense, and abstract

---

Candidate: Yuchun Lin

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Chemistry

Title: An Exploration of the Chemical and Biological Processes through Molecular Dynamics Simulation and Block-Localized Wavefunction Method

Date: Monday, April 21, 2008 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
1728 Wood Hall

---

Candidate: Jaclyn M. West-Frasier

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Interdisciplinary Health Studies

Title: Relationships among Self-efficacy, Emotional Well-being, Clinical Outcomes, Telemonitoring, and Diagnosis in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease or Heart Failure

Date: Thursday, May 1, 2008 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
College of Health and Human Services, Room 2024

---

Candidate: Kineta Lynn Morgan-Paisley

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Psychology

Title: Disruptive Effects of Ab Oligomers to the Radial-Arm Maze Performance of Rats

Date: Monday, May 5, 2008 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
3715 Wood Hall

---

Candidate: Brenda Bratton

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Psychology

Title: Mindfulness in Childbirth: An Investigation of the Effects of Mindfulness Training on Maternal Satisfaction with Childbirth and Obstetric Outcomes

Date: Monday, May 5, 2008 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
3723 Wood Hall

---

Candidate: Penny Larsen

Degree of: Doctor of Education

Department: Educational Leadership, Research and Technology

Title: Making the Difference in High School Poverty: Selected Principals Perspectives from High- achieving Urban Elementary Schools

Date: Tuesday, May 13, 2008 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
3208 Sangren Hall

---

Candidate: Kyle W. Mayer

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Educational Leadership, Research and Technology

Title: Collective Bargaining in Public Schools: Superintendents’ Perspective

Date: Tuesday, May 13, 2008 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
WMU Grand Rapids Beltline Campus, Room 3008

---

Candidate: Kathy L. Rix

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Educational Leadership, Research and Technology

Title: Differences by Degrees: Providing Services to Adult Students Based on Degree Level Pursued

Date: Wednesday, May 14, 2008 5:15 p.m. – 7:15 p.m.
2145 Schneider Hall

---

Candidate: Michael Harris

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Counseling Education and Counseling Psychology

Title: A Qualitative Study of Psychotherapists Whose Work is Informed by Buddhist Psychological Perspectives

Date: Monday, May 19, 2008 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
3210 Sangren Hall

---

Candidate: Rhiannon M. Fante

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Psychology

Title: A Comparison of Three Training Methods on the Acquisition and Retention of Automotive Product Knowledge

Date: Monday, May 19, 2008 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
3715 Wood Hall

---

Candidate: Adam Milewski

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Geosciences

Title: Remote Sensing Solutions for Estimating Runoff and Recharge in Arid Environments

Date: Wednesday, May 21, 2008 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
1120 Rood Hall

---

Candidate: Kathleen Poindexter

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Educational Leadership, Research and Technology

Title: Perceived Essential Novice Nurse Educator Role Competencies and Qualifications to Teach in a Pre- licensure Registered Nurse Education Program

Date: Wednesday, May 21, 2008 2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
East Beltline Campus, Grand Rapids, Room 3007

---

Candidate: Yu Ju Wu

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Paper Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Imaging

Title: The Effect of Substrates Properties on Print Attributes for Gravure Printing: From Proof to Press

Date: Thursday, May 22, 2008 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Parkview Campus, Room B-211

---

Candidate: Nathanael David O’Reilly

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: English

Title: Between the City and the Bush: Suburbia in the Contemporary Australian Novel

Date: Thursday, May 22, 2008 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Emeriti Lounge, Walwood Hall

---

Candidate: Kristi Robinia

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Educational Leadership, Research, and Technology

Title: The Effect of Online Teaching Self-Efficacy on Nurse Faculty Teaching in Public, Accredited Nursing Programs in the State of Michigan

Date: Friday, May 23, 2008 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
1354 Ellsworth Hall CVIT

---

Candidate: Elizabeth Knapp

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: English

Title: Intimacy

Date: Friday, May 23, 2008 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Walwood Hall, Emeriti Lounge

---

Candidate: Mary-Catherine Kane

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology

Title: Relationships Associated with Long-term Step- grandmother Role Behavior, Role Meaning, and Satisfaction

Date: Monday, June 9, 2008 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
3208 Sangren Hall

---

Candidate: Robin M. Carter-Visscher

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Psychology

Title: Unwanted Sexual Experiences: Preliminary Development and Validation of a Behavioral Analog Measure for Risk Perception, Response Appraisal, and Response

Date: Tuesday, June 10, 2008 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
3715 Wood Hall

---

Candidate: Beth Dietzel

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Clinical Psychology

Title: Emotion Recognition and the Propensity to Engage in Sexually Coercive Behaviors: A Study with College Males

Date: Wednesday, June 11, 2008 2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
3715 Wood Hall

---

Candidate: Richard H. Becker

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Geosciences

Title: Remote Sensing Studies for the Assessment of Geohazards: Toxic Algal Blooms in the Lower Great Lakes and Land Subsidence in the Nile Delta

Date: Thursday, June 12, 2008 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
1122 Rood Hall

---

Candidate: Willis H. Thomas

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Evaluation

Title: A Metaevaluation of Lessons Learned Repositories: Evaluative Knowledge Management Practices in Project Management

Date: Tuesday, June 17, 2008 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
4410 Ellsworth Hall

---

Candidate: Meng-Huang Lu

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering

Title: A New Rough Wall Layer Modeling for Turbulent Flows Using the Brinkman Equation

Date: Thursday, June 19, 2008 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Parkview Campus, Room D-206

---

Candidate: Dana C. Cox

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Mathematics

Title: Understanding Similarity: Bridging Geometric and Numeric Contexts for Proportional Reasoning

Date: Friday, June 20, 2008 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Alavi Commons, Everett Tower

---

Candidate: Amanda M. Karsten

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Psychology

Title: Evaluation of a Progressive Model for Identifying Preferred Stimuli for Children with Developmental Disabilities

Date: Friday, June 27, 2008 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
1509 Wood Hall

---

Candidate: Daniela C. Schröter

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Evaluation

Title: Evaluation of Sustainability for Sustainability: Development and Validation of an Evaluation Checklist

Date: Friday, June 27, 2008 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Emeriti Lounge, Walwood Hall

---

Candidate: Tina R. Goldsmith

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Psychology

Title: Using Virtual Reality Enhanced Behavioral Skills Training to Teach Street-Crossing Skills to Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Date: Friday, June 27, 2008 2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
1509 Wood Hall

---

Candidate: Robert Harold Duke

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: History

Title: Language, Landscape, and Law: Uncle Sam and Schools on the Frontiers of Bilingual Education, 1964 1980

Date: Monday, June 30, 2008 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
10th Floor, Sprau Tower

---

Candidate: Wesley A. Martz

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Evaluation

Title: Toward Evaluating Organizational Effectiveness

Date: Monday, June 30, 2008 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
4410 Ellsworth Hall

---

Candidate: Seonghyuk Ko

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Paper Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Imaging

Title: Zeolite-Based Nanosized TiO2 Photocatalytic Paper for Antimicrobial Barrier and Toxin Passivation in Packaging: Design, Synthesis and Characterization

Date: Tuesday, July 1, 2008 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Room A-213, Parkview Campus

---

CANCELLED 6-30-08

Candidate: Sarah Elizabeth Pernie

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Educational Leadership, Research, and Technology

Title: Content Analysis of University Alcohol Policies: “Party Schools” Compared to Non-party Schools

Date: Tuesday, July 1, 2008 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Room D-212 in the College of Engineering Building, Parkview Campus

---

Candidate: Denise E. Dedman

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Educational Leadership, Research, and Technology

Title: Social Work Field Instructors’ Perceptions of On-Line Training

Date: Tuesday, July 1, 2008 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
3306 Sangren Hall

---

Candidate: Nicholas L. Weatherly

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Psychology

Title: A Comparison of Maintenance-Training Methods for Children Diagnosed with Autism

Date: Wednesday, July 2, 2008 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
2734 Wood Hall

---

Candidate: Alper Y. Dede

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Political Science

Title: Islamism, State Control over Religion and Social Identity: Turkey and Egypt

Date: Wednesday, July 9, 2008 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
3301 Friedmann Hall

---

Candidate: Janice M. Long

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Interdisciplinary Health Studies

Title: Perceptions of Quality of Life of Latinos with Diabetes Living in the U.S.: Variations by Geographic Region of Origin

Committee:
Dr. Kieran J. Fogarty, Chair
Dr. Amy Curtis
Dr. Kathie Aduddell

Date: Thursday, July 10, 2008 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
College of Health and Human Services, Room 2024

---

Candidate: Lily Cheyanne Munavu

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology

Title: The Effects of Defendant Race, Psychological Expert Witness Race, and Racially Salient Psychological Expert Testimony on Juror Decision Making

Date: Thursday, July 10, 2008 1:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
3208 Sangren Hall

---

Candidate: Jill Marie Hebert

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: English

Title: Shapeshifter: The Manifestations of Morgan le Fay

Date: Thursday, July 10, 2008 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Emeriti Lounge, Walwood Hall

---

Candidate: Sagarika Mishra

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Economics

Title: Essays on Asymmetric Loss and Learning in Macroeconomic Forecasting

Date: Thursday, July 10, 2008 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
5302 Friedman Hall

---

Candidate: Alicia Arribas

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Spanish

Title: Representaciones de la Inmigración Hispano-americana en España en la Narrativa y el Cine de Finales del Siglo XX y Principios del XXI

Date: Friday, July 25, 2008 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Sprau Tower, 10th Floor

---

Candidate: Nicole E. Gravina

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Psychology

Title: An Evaluation of the Efficacy of the Consultant Workshop Model in a Human Service Setting

Date: Monday, July 28, 2008 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
3715 Wood Hall

---

Candidate: Laura Nejedlik

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Biological Sciences

Title: Construction of a New Model System in Saccharomyces Cerevisiae to Study YopO and Identify Its Target

Date: Wednesday, July 30, 2008 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
2734 Wood Hall

---

Candidate: Tadesse Biru Wodajo

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Economics

Title: Three Essays on Computer and Internet Use at Home

Date: Thursday, July 31, 2008 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
5302 Friedman Hall

---

Candidate: Rhae-Ann Richardson-Booker

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Educational Leadership, Research and Technology

Title:A Comparative Study of Extended Meta-ethnography and Meta-Analysis Based on the Fundamental Micro-purposes of
a Literature Review

Date: Monday, August 4, 2008 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
3208 Sangren Hall

---

Candidate: Sandra R. Madden

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Mathematics

Title: High School Mathematics Teachers’ Evolving Understanding of Comparing Distributions

Date: Friday, August 8, 2008 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Everett Tower, 6th Floor

---