Digital Commons Network^™

Overcoming The Loss Of Nonverbal Cues Encountered By The Adventitiously Blind: Reconstructing Relationships And Identity, Vernon Floyd Humphrey

Dissertations

In this study, couples shared their experiences adjusting to one of the members loss of sight. Through interviews, their narratives expressed their values, actions, inactions, successes, failures, needs, obstacles, and feelings. Participants explained their standpoint/perspective about vision loss, when it happened, how it affected them, how they reacted and responded, through hindsight how they thought they should have responded, and how they reconstructed a shared interpersonal relationship. Narratives about situations and events after the loss of sight revealed descriptions of their relationships and interactions with each other and other people in their circle. Through constant comparative analysis the individual narratives …

Using Technology To Improve Diabetes Self-Management Within A Federally Qualified Community Health Center, Lisa Diane Morgan

Doctoral Projects

The Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) concept places the patient and family at the center of healthcare. The patient becomes actively involved in their own care. One aspect of PCMH is managing care and increasing chronic disease self-management. Diabetes, a chronic disease, is a leading diagnosis among the patients served by the federally qualified community health center (FQCHC). The prevalence of diabetes in Mississippi in 2012 was 12.3%. The purpose of this DNP Capstone project was to implement a pilot study to increase diabetes self-management knowledge. The program utilized the current technology of text messaging to send biweekly supportive and …

Coping Mechanisms Of Children With Atopic Dermatitis, Whitney A. St. Mary

Honors Theses

This was a qualitative study that explored the lived experience of parents who had children with atopic dermatitis, otherwise known as eczema. The study had seven volunteer participants and the objective of this study was to determine any coping mechanisms used to overcome the negative aspects of atopic dermatitis. Volunteers were obtained from the Oak Grove Family Clinic. Phone interviews were then conducted and the participants were asked a series of eight questions. After the interviews concluded the researcher then transcribed the interviews and determined common themes from parents’ responses. All of the parents discussed how using unscented lotion, preventing …

Determining Whether A Link Exists Between The Academic Performance Of Mississippi Public School Districts And School Administrators' Use Of Persuasive Communication Techniques And Self-Efficacy In Communication, David Alexander Burris

Dissertations

This study sought to determine whether a link existed between types of persuasive communication methods and the academic performance of school districts and whether administrators’ perceived self-efficacy as communicators was related to the academic performance of school districts. This study could help school officials to analyze their use of persuasive communication methods to determine if they are communicating with the public in a manner that is conducive to achieving the goals related to the academic performance of their district. School officials could also use the results of this study to design or modify an existing public relations plan to communicate …

Running Contradiction: A Negotiated Reading Of Encoding Strategies In The Boondocks Animated Series, 2005-2011, Wesley Tyler French

Dissertations

This study is comprised of a five-point qualitative critical analysis of denotation strategies employed in the first three seasons of The Boondocks Animated Series, which aired on United States cable television between 2005 and 2011. The five encoding strategies discussed in this study were selectively employed into each episode by the cast and crew of The Boondocks Animated Series. The encoding strategies were employed to facilitate audience accessibility between 2005 and 2011 during The Boondocks Animated Series’ successful initial run on the Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim programming block.

This study focuses on the first three seasons of The Boondocks Animated …

A Measure Of Soft Skill Gains Acquisition With Engagement In Baccalaureate Nursing Programs, Wendy J. Williams-Buenzli

Dissertations

This dissertation examined soft skill acquisition from engagement in baccalaureate nursing programs. Baccalaureate nursing programs prepare nurses to be the future leaders of nursing practice. Soft skills include critical thinking, interpersonal communications, and ethical decision-making. To explore the acquisition of soft skills, this research study analyzed data from the National Survey of Student Engagement to explore for gains in critical thinking, ethical decision-making, and critical thinking. After gains scores were identified, then correlations were run to identify key engagement indicators. The findings of the study found gains in soft skill behaviors from freshman year to senior year of baccalaureate education. …