Digital Commons Network^™

Synthesis Of 2,4,6-Substituted Pyrrolo[2,3-D]Pyrimidines As Potential Anticancer Agents, Si Yang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis mainly focuses on the introduction of the background and work have been done in the areas of antifolates development, such as folate function, its three uptake mechanisms inside human cells, antifolates’ role in chemotherapy, et. al. In addition, the Structure-Activity-Relationship design rationale for the series of antifolates will also be discussed. Nevertheless, the details of synthesizing these pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidines as potential antifolates have been described, including chemistry reviews on the pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine scaffold, and the challenges encountered and the solutions how to solve or improve in order to achieve better yield.

On The Cover Of The Rollin’ Stone: How Rolling Stone Magazine Frames Politics And News, Ashley Anne Walter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Rolling Stone magazine is a significant artifact spanning throughout American pop culture; yet it has fought to be considered a legitimate news source in American media. This thesis study examines how Rolling Stone frames news and politics, and how the magazine portrays itself as being political, through its front covers. Research has shown that magazine covers “communicate,” “visually summarize” and work “as an advertisement to attract customers” (Kang & Heo, 2013). The purpose of this study is to understand how Rolling Stone presents itself as a legitimate news source and how the covers convey the publication’s identity. A mixed-methods …

Determining The Specific Transition Needs Of Military And Veteran Students (Mvs), A Qualitative/Mixed Methods Study, Donald Accamando

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A number of challenges await military and veteran students (MVS) as they make their way to college campuses. These non-traditional students will transition to an environment different from the one they experienced while serving. This problem exists because a majority of the post-secondary schools across the country are not prepared to assist with their transition.

An initial review of the literature related to a veteran student’s transition to college has shown that very few colleges and universities offer a transition program developed specifically for this non-traditional student group. This has led to the formulation of two research questions:

1. What …

Outsourcing Our Memory 2.0: Using Walter Ong's Orality/Literacy Studies To Recognize Technologies Effects On Memory, Rishi Raj Bahl

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

At the heart of media ecology is the principle that technology not only deeply influences society, but also controls most aspects of daily life. Additionally, media ecology investigates how media and communication processes profoundly affect human perception and understanding. The pervasive role that technology plays in modern life today has exacerbated the results of technology on human beings. Some of these outcomes are not desirable and may be a hindrance to the progress of our society. This dissertation takes particular interest in the multifaceted consequences that the overuse of technology imposes on our ability to fully utilize our memory.

In …

Structure & Simulation: Growth And Evolution In Generative Music, Dane Filipczak

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis describes a series of original interactive computer music compositions that are structured around simulations of natural phenomena. The relationship between simulation and music composition is considered and found to be a likely site of high creative potential due to both domains’ concern with process and becoming as opposed to static artifacts. The medium of the web application is considered as an ideal site for contemporary musical experimentation and a portrait is given of the current affordances and constraints of browser-based applications. Five musical systems are described within the context of their simulation and design techniques and some reflections …

"Unorthodox Conduct": Re-Membering Queer Africa In Literature And Film, Matthew Patrick Durkin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

"'Unorthodox Conduct'" explores positive representations of sexual and gender minorities in African literatures and film from the 1970s to 2010s that dismantle heterosexist notions of African sexuality and work towards what Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o calls "re-membering." I interrogate how literary and cinematic depictions of same-sex sexualities resist contemporary homophobic attitudes, particularly those espoused by government and spiritual leaders. Positive literary and cinematic representations of queer Africans, however, have only emerged in recent years. These literary and cinematic representations are routinely minimized or ignored in academia as valid avenues for the navigation of interpersonal relationships and socio-political strife in queer African …

A Cacrep-Informed Counselor Educator Developmental Model: Identifying Counselor Skills And Supports Needed For Neophyte Counselor Educators, Ryan Bowers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The field of counseling has been undergoing radical change for the past 40 years as it changes with the demands of the population and as new problems arise with changes in societal needs. Groups such as the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs are working to create a program of counselor education that is singular and comprehensive to meet the needs of these changes. This mixed-methods study explored skills and supports that are needed to help counseling education students become effective future counselor educators. The researcher introduces a model of counselor educator development that will help to …

The Relationship Between Testing Frequency And Student Achievement In Eighth-Grade Mathematics: An International Comparative Study Based On Timss 2011, Ufuk Guven

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between quiz frequency and student achievement in eighth-grade mathematics as measured by TIMSS. The more specific goal of the study was determining the best quiz frequency (daily, weekly, monthly, no quizzes) and student achievement relationship for an eighth-grade mathematics course. The study investigated the above-mentioned relationship in all of the eighth-grade of participant countries combined, as well as in four specific countries: Korea, Singapore, Turkey, and the United States. Another goal of the study was to determine high performing and low performing countries’ quizzing practices, and to determine the best …

Predicting Bankruptcy And Catastrophic Loss: A Portfolio Approach, Michael Mckibben

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper uses logistic regression to assign risk of catastrophic loss (defined as a loss of 80% or more of market cap value) to companies, and analyzes the subsequent returns of high risk and low risk portfolios. In the final model, the low risk portfolio had a three-year mean return of approximately 47%, with a catastrophic loss rate of 1.1%. The high-risk portfolio had a three-year mean return of approximately .5%, with a catastrophic loss rate of 29%. The paper expands upon a model developed by Dr. Abhay Gaur and Dr. Leo Rebholz in Rebholz’s 2002 thesis, Bankruptcy as Cusp …

Counselor Education Unplugged? An Exploration Of Current Attitudes Surrounding The Use Of Online Learning As A Modality In Graduate Counselor Education, Eric James Perry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation qualitatively investigates counselor education faculty perceptions regarding online courses or programs and the overall perception of counselor education faculty regarding the effectiveness of online learning. A total of 154 counselor educators completed the CEATOLS instrument, a survey designed to capture demographic information, perceptions of effectiveness of online learning in counselor education, and concerns related to online learning in counselor education. Results indicate that, overall, counselor educators have a markedly lower perception of the effectiveness of online counselor education courses than of traditional Analysis of the concerns expressed by counselor educators reveal a five-factor structure similar to that which …

My Do Over: A Case Study Of An Intentional Focus On Relationship Building, By The School Leadership, In A Newly Formed School, Jean Marie Livingston

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The closing of public schools is occurring each school year in cities across the country. This case study will look at one public school that endured the closure of three school buildings and the reconfiguration of the entire school district during the 2015-2016 school year. The main focus of this case study was on one building in this district and the question to be answered was, “Does an intentional focus on relationship building, by the school leadership, influence school culture and instructional practice in a newly formed school?” The literature will discuss school closures and the impact on stakeholders, grief …

Reconstructing The War In Iraq: Post-9/11 American War Fiction In Dialogue With Official-Media Discourse, Ashley Kunsa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project examines American-authored Iraq War fiction within the context of public discourse. Given that modern, industrialized warfare is as much created by and through official-media discourse as represented by it, fictional accounts of Iraq exist not outside or separate from this discourse but rather in a dynamic, continually evolving relationship with it. The three texts explored in this study—Ben Fountain’s Billy Lynn’s Long Half Time Walk (2012), David Abrams’ Fobbit (2012), and Phil Klay’s Redeployment (2014)—thus do more than merely represent the war experience: operating always in conversation with how the war has been constructed, the novels and stories …

Job Satisfaction And Empowerment Of Self-Employed Nurse Practitioners: A Mixed Methods Study, Catherine Lyden

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background and Purpose: Self-employed nurse practitioners (NPs) have been part of the American health care landscape since the 1980s, owning practices throughout the United States. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experience of self-employed NPs, focusing on their level of job satisfaction and perceived level of empowerment.

Methods: The study was a convergent-parallel designed, mixed-method study, utilizing a survey and semi-structured interviews. The survey included the Misener Job Satisfaction Survey (MJSS) and Conditions of Work Effectiveness Questionnaire II (CWEQ-II)

Conclusions: A total of 142 surveys and 13 interviews were completed and analyzed. Nurse practitioners in private …

The Lived Experiences Of School Counselors Participating In Yoga: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study Of Self-Care, Susan Giovengo-Gurrera

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the lived experiences of school counselors participating in yoga. The primary objective of this research was to gain a thick, rich understanding of how school counselors experience the practice of yoga. A secondary objective of this study was to gain an understanding of how the regular practice of yoga can serve as a method of self-care for school counselors. This qualitative, phenomenologically-oriented study employed van Manen’s (1990) four lived existentials, Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) bio-ecological model of human development, and current mindfulness literature as its theoretical underpinnings.

School counselors regularly face many issues that …

Toward A Theory Of Action: Opportunities Embedded In Counseling Theory For School Counselors To Improve Their Perceptions Of And Approaches Toward Their Relationship With Their School Principals, Stephanie A. Mchugh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study employed perceptions of school counselors relative to their relationships with their principals in order to investigate a theory of action that employs the skills and strategies embedded in counseling theory to identify courses of action that counselors can use to improve the principal-counselor relationship. School counselors attending national and state counselor conferences (N=31) responded to a prompt asking for the perceived strengths and weaknesses of their principal-counselor relationship, and the barriers they perceived to improving the relationship. Responses were analyzed using a close reading process that applied a strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-threats (SWOT) framework to the responses and identified emergent themes …

Barriers And Facilitators To Diabetes Self-Management In A Primary Care Setting – Patient And Physician Perspectives, Rahul Khairnar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

OBJECTIVES: To identify patient- and physician-perceived barriers to self-management of type-2 diabetes (T2DM) and explore the challenges physicians face in managing these patients. METHODS: This cross-sectional study of T2DM patients and their physicians used a mixed-methods approach (combination of patient survey and electronic medical record (EMR) database). A random stratified sample of 2,100 patients (age≥18 years) with a recorded diagnosis of T2DM (ICD-9 code: 250.xx) and having ≥2 physician visits was selected from a large physician group’s EMR database, and based on HbA1c level, was categorized into three groups: HbA1c<7, 7–9, and >9. Patients were administered a survey containing standardized instruments to …

Relational Interreligious Dialogue: Interdisciplinary Arguments From Creator/Creature Theology And Quantum Entanglement, Joyce Ann Konigsburg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Globalization, technological advances, and worldviews that perceive religious others with suspicion, all intensify society’s awareness of religious plurality and the subsequent necessity for effective interreligious dialogue. Engaging in interreligious dialogue through daily encounters, conversations, common concerns, and shared religious experiences advances religious pluralism. Nevertheless, the current state of interreligious dialogue is at an impasse; its existing substantive ontological approaches introduce, perpetuate, or worsen challenges of hegemony, elitism, and marginalization, as well as tensions between the diametric goals of religious unity versus unique religious identity. Substantive ontological models emphasize religious autonomy instead of any relational connections between religious traditions. These prevalent …

An Examination Of Factors Affecting Hemoglobin A1c Levels And Self-Care Behaviors Among Type 2 Diabetic Patients In The Primary Care Setting, Courtney Daron Proie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite all of the research that has demonstrated the importance of optimal control of diabetes, there are still many people who do not receive adequate care, education, and support in managing their diabetes (Barnard, Peyrot, & Holt, 2012; Rossi et al., 2015). This cross-sectional, descriptive, study examined the effects of the components of the Chronic Care Model on the outcomes of self-care behaviors and HbA1c levels for Type 2 diabetes patients cared for by nurse practitioners and physicians in the primary care setting. Specifically, this study examined the effects of self-management support, conceptualized as patient perceptions of patient activation, participation …

Perceptions Of Care During The Prenatal Period: An Ethnonursing Study Of African American Childbearing Women In The Military Health System, Thecly Hines Scott

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: The military health system (MHS) offers prenatal care at no-cost, but African-American women eligible for prenatal care still have low/no/late utilization. No studies have sought to understand factors that influence African American women’s use of early and continuous prenatal care or their perceptions of the care they received in the military health care system. The purpose of this research was to understand how African American women in the MHS perceived their care during the prenatal period. Methodology: An ethnonursing study was conducted in two military treatment facilities. The sample comprised 21 informants. Findings: Leininger’s Four Phases of Ethnonursing Data …

Perceptions Of Disability, Identity, Agency, Goal Attainment, And Young Adult Disability Programs, Rachel Elizabeth Kallem Whitman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Youth with disability are oppressed and marginalized by a dominant cultural narrative called ableism (Adams, Reiss, and Serlin, 2015; Campbell, 2015 as cited in Adams et al., 2015). Challenging ableism is a matter of social justice. Without serious attitudinal shifts and the removal of systemic barriers, our youth with disabilities will continue to experience negative outcomes and underdeveloped agency. This study was conducted to provide a more detailed look into how adults with disabilities, who participated in disability advocacy programs as youth, perceive their past involvement with such programs in relation to defining their disability, identity, and capacity for agency. …

Exiles On Main Street: A Pedagogy Of Popular Music Through Technology And Aesthetic Education, Jordan Mroziak

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the application of instructional technology within the specific context of popular music education. Synthesizing the work of Mishra & Koehler (2006) and Bauer (2014), this dissertation operationalizes a broader, more contemporary definition of instructional technology that goes beyond the traditional conception of mere instructional tool towards one that is more protean, unstable, and opaque. Research questions about technology’s impact on music education are central to this curriculum study and evolve into considerations on how the relationship of popular music and instructional technology shape a pedagogy for popular music education. Making use of principles rooted in aesthetic education, …

Development Of Binary Composite Solid Microparticles For Improved Intranasal Absorption Of Low Permeation Drug Molecules, Dipy Madhukar Vasa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this work was to introduce a novel formulation strategy for intranasal delivery of two low permeation candidates: levodopa (L-DOPA; antiparkinsonism drug) and ribavirin (RBVN; an antiviral drug). The central hypothesis states that preparation of binary composite microparticles with Pluronic® triblock copolymers (polyethylene glycol-polypropylene glycol-polyethylene glycol) should allow increased drug transport across nasal mucosal tissue relative to drug alone. Testing the hypothesis necessitated execution of specific aims directed to addressing issues inherent to the proposed approach. The work herein is presented with respect to two separate subjects: (1) material understanding and (2) formulation development. In the first two …

"What A Poor, Passive Machine": The Psychosomatic Heroine From Richardson To Austen, Sara Elizabeth Tavela

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project examines the psychosomatic heroine, a character type I observe emerging throughout the long eighteenth-century who responds to social, domestic, and personal pressures and stressors with mental and emotional preoccupations that lead to physiological symptoms. I demonstrate through close textual analysis that the psychosomatic heroine originates with Samuel Richardson’s Clarissa and continues as a trope that Frances Burney’s Cecilia and The Wanderer, Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility and Persuasion, and Geraldine Jewsbury’s The Half Sisters interrogate and transform. Like other heroine types, the psychosomatic heroine reveals sociocultural discourses that speak to what it means to be a woman in …

Fault Lines, Robert D. Traugh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fault Lines is a musical composition written for the traditional wind band and

electronics created as an artistic expression of disruptive elements invoking change. The composition aims to draw connections between the geological tectonic stress and rebalancing process and the human experience of stress, disruption, and rebalancing. The composition allows an opportunity for an electronic performer’s artistic variation from performance to performance based on the choices of sounds relevant to the performer.

The Utility Of A Theoretical Framework Of A Culture Of Leadership, James E. Wortman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine the utility of a Culture of Leadership Framework for both evaluating and contributing to the formation of a dynamic school culture that infuses leadership up, down, and throughout the membership of the school learning community with students as a central figure. The Culture of Leadership Framework emerged from an extensive review of the literature and includes four distinct dimensions (indicators) that become critical to analyzing the data: Leadership Orientation, Leveraging Leadership, Leadership for Learning, and Leadership Growth. The researcher used a general interpretive process of close reading to develop themes from extant …

Retention And Attrition In Bariatric Surgery Research: A Qualitative Study, William F. Gourash

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Problem: Longitudinal bariatric surgical research studies often lack information on retention and attrition of study participants and the strategies utilized to optimize these. The potential for attrition bias with adverse effects on validity, reliability, and generalizability increases over time. The many factors potentially affecting retention and attrition in research, have been under studied.

Purpose: The purpose was to explore factors affecting research participation of bariatric surgical patients who are subjects in the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (LABS) study. The research questions explored research participants’ perceptions, motivations, and attitudes concerning participation in the study, specifically participation in annual in-person visits …

The Experiences Of Registered Nurses Injured By Interpersonal Violence While On Duty In An Emergency Department, Salena Wright-Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Numerous studies and reports identify the concerning incidence of work place violence directed toward healthcare workers (Centers for Disease Control, 2013; Gerberich et al., 2004; Government Accountability Office, 2016; U.S. Department of Labor, 2016). Despite efforts over the past few years to reduce workplace violence in healthcare facilities and specifically in emergency departments, the incidence of violence has not substantially lessened (Government Accountability Office, 2016). In March, 2016, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report that was prepared by congressional request. The GAO found that workers in in-patient healthcare facilities experienced work-place violence that resulted in lost time from …

Techno-Salvation: Developing A Christian Hermeneutic Of Enhancement Technology, Richard Landrum Wilson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A cadre of scientists, philosophers, and ethicists labeled transhumanists and posthumanists argue that by strategic use of technology we can greatly enhance human beings into our next stage of evolution. Rather than leave the evolutionary process to natural results, transhumanists and posthumanists want to shape humanity to meet our own desires. This direct goal of changing human beings has profound implications for Christian faith and practices. At the same time, there is no reason to think that the utilization of technological enhancements will not happen. As such, to best meet the challenge, it is unavoidable for Christians to engage transhumanism …

Culture Counts: Examining The Effectiveness Of A Culturally Focused Empowerment Program For At-Risk Black Girls, Candice Nicole Aston

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Traditionally, many of the problems experienced by Black girls were overshadowed by the ongoing crises facing Black Males. Although important, the focus on Blackness and masculinity often implicitly leaves young Black girls on the sidelines and fails to recognize their unique obstacles. Fortunately, there has been a new surge of social concern revolving around the plight of Black girls in the school system. New estimates report that Black girls are facing an educational crisis in regards to disproportionate discipline practices and academics (Morris, 2012). To date, there has been very limited research in regards to school-based interventions that have been …

Quality Of Care In Patients With Cirrhosis And Ascites, Hepatic Encephalopathy Or Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis, Ankur Dashputre

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objective: To analyze concordance with evidence-based clinical care guidelines in real world clinical practice in patients with cirrhosis and ascites, hepatic encephalopathy (HE), or spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP).

Methods: A retrospective cohort analysis of the UPMC EMR database (2009-2014) with access to full outpatient and limited inpatient data was conducted to identify patients with cirrhosis and ascites, HE or SBP. Data regarding patient demographics, clinical characteristics, laboratory values and medication utilization were extracted. Analyses included examination of patient demographic and clinical characteristics, change in disease severity (via MELDNa scoring) from cirrhosis to complication development and outpatient/inpatient healthcare utilization patterns. Additionally, …