What's The Pointe?: A Leap Into New Leadership, Traci A. Lively

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study is to observe the communication process of a newly appointed leader in a professional ballet company. Over the course of several scheduled research days, interactions with various stakeholders and one on one interviews with the new leader within the organization are observed and recorded. This study will provide insight on leadership and leadership change from the point of view of new leadership. This leadership exposure across the organization will provide better understanding to new leadership, finding leadership identity, employee commitment within the organization and how new leadership interacts in various situations and how he perceives …

End Of The Road: A Case Study Of An Hbcu Upward Bound Program That Lost Its Funding, Kimberly R. Hill

Doctoral Dissertations

This study investigates the factors leading to the loss of funding and subsequent closure of a long-standing Upward Bound program at Fortitude University, a Historically Black University. As one of the original federally funded Upward Bound programs established in 1964, this program played a crucial role in bridging the opportunity gap for many students in the city where this program was located, encouraging high school completion and college readiness. Despite its historical significance and impact, the program faced an abrupt end in the summer of 2017. Employing general qualitative research methods, the study draws on interviews with former Upward Bound …

Evidence-Based Practice Education For Nurses Caring For Oncology Patients With Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: A Quality Improvement Project., Natalie N. Ellis, Pamela Hardesty

Graduate Publications and Other Selected Works - Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

BACKGROUND: Nurses are one of the primary sources of information for patients during their healthcare journey. Patient education can mean the difference between a positive and negative outcome. Oncology patients undergoing chemotherapy are an especially vulnerable population and education and preparation for potential side-effects related to chemotherapy is important. There are several ways to control chemotherapy-induced side effects (CISE). One of the debilitating side effects can be chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). While difficult to manage, the support of nursing staff to encourage patients to take an active role in their care could help decrease the risk of CIPN and improve …

Productivity As Social Imperative Automation And Transformations Of Labor In The United States And Germany, Anthony Jack Knowles Ii

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to illuminate the social, economic, and political dynamics shaping automation, labor transformations, and productivity development through a comparative historical analysis of the automobile industry in the United States and Germany from the turn of the 20th century to the present. I examine the US and Germany as two value regimes that represent two distinct models of political, economic, and social organization, focusing on three specific dimensions: (1) business structure and practice, (2) labor organizing and struggles, and (3) governments as they support industries and form the legal basis for industrial relations. Major productive developments …

Smart Warehousing Implementaion And Education Of Supply Chain Management Leaders, David Quintanilla

Doctoral Dissertations

Paper #1 Overview

Businesses have to adapt to new challenges and technologies in the marketplace which influence warehousing. In order to support this growth, Industry 4.0 technologies have been implemented along the value chain to optimize their organizations and production processes; however, there are still gaps for warehousing research for Industry 4.0. We present four pillars¾location strategy, infrastructure/design, data management, and advanced planning and control¾ as a framework for businesses to use for their adaptation into smart warehousing. In particular, this framework will guide companies in their logistics journey into Industry 4.0. Industry experts and senior logistics professionals were interviewed …

Procurement Skills In The Age Of Volatility, Jason S. Kerzel

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Progressive Analytics Diffusions: Rewiring Our Software, Liz Wanless

Journal of Applied Sport Management

The sport industry is no stranger to the pursuit of innovation (Slack & Thurston, 2021). The sport analytics realm represents the continual emergence of innovation diffusion curves. This essay shows how innovating both research and education in response to diffusion curves in sport analytics, we can create the space to not only keep but also generate pace.

An Examination Of University Employees' Green Workplace Behaviors, Stephanie Nicole Jones

Doctoral Dissertations

As colleges and universities implement or enhance campus sustainability programs and administrators seek to understand the impact of such programs on their campuses, much effort has focused on understanding the green behavior of students enrolled at these institutions. However, given that universities employ large numbers of faculty and staff, it is also important to understand employees’ green behaviors. This descriptive survey research study sought to better understand the green behaviors of employees at a research university in the southeastern part of the United States. Potential participants were emailed a link to an online Qualtrics survey consisting of 31 closed and …

Kitchen Invasion: Restaurants’ Business Model Innovations During The Covid-19 Crisis, Jaewoo Jung

Doctoral Dissertations

My dissertation explores how and why firms facing the same exogenous threats react differently, leading to different business model innovation (BMI) processes. I examine BMI in a context that has been hard-hit by COVID-19 pandemic restrictions—the restaurant industry. Employing a mixed-method research design, I conducted a longitudinal, inductive comparative case study of 17 restaurateurs in the same geographic region to explore how they have responded to the pandemic and how their BMI unfolded over time. To generalize my understanding of these processes, I then analyzed large-scale media data about the restaurant industry using topic modeling. In this quantitative analysis, I …

Establishing A Systematic Outline For Operational Excellence Model And Proposing A Comprehensive Model, Omkar Rajendra Ghosalkar

Masters Theses

Manufacturing organizations adopt operational excellence strategies to meet performance targets. While Lean Manufacturing (LM) is widely used in OPEX and is supported by many industries case studies, but faces two major challenges. First, there is an absence of a standard framework to implement LM. Second, the framework does not explicitly address employee engagement and quality of life in the continuous improvement process. This has led to low reported levels of sustainability of LM. People-Centric Operational Excellence (PCOM) has been presented as a response to challenges in LM. PCOM comprises four modules: problem definition, design of metrics, design of reliability-based solutions, …

Weight Management In A Rural Community: Creative Strategies To Improve Patient Outcomes, Joelle Torres Giron, Karen Lasater

Graduate Publications and Other Selected Works - Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Aim

To assess if incorporation of weight management education and resources in the electronic health record of a rural community clinic and the utilization of these resources for a patient-provider goal setting conversation has any effects on patient outcomes.

Background

Obesity continues to be a global epidemic whose effects can be seen in patient outcomes and health systems. Rural populations have additional obstacles that make weight management more difficult.

Design

An evidence-based quality improvement project approach was developed.

Methods

A total of five patients were recruited in a community clinic in rural western Virginia. Utilizing the electronic health record, baseline …

Analyzing Service Divide In Academic Libraries For Better Serving Disabled Patrons Using Assistive Technologies, Devendra Potnis, Kevin Mallary

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Academic libraries invest thousands of dollars in assistive technologies (AT) for enhancing the delivery of information services to disabled patrons. However, offering AT might not result in their use by the patrons who need them, thereby leading to a service divide. The analysis of qualitative responses, including over 1,400 quotations, elicited from academic library administrators and librarians in 186 public universities across the United States, reveals that academic libraries encounter 51 challenges related to the knowledge and skills of librarians, hardware and software concerns, institutional factors, finances, and external actors, when serving disabled patrons with AT. Finally, the researchers propose …

The Need For A Sepsis Screening Tool In An Outpatient Facility, Michael C. Ciccarone, Terrica Durbin

Graduate Publications and Other Selected Works - Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Sepsis is an exaggerated inflammatory response generated by the immune system secondary to the presence of septicemia, or pathogens within the bloodstream. An average of 270,000 individuals die from sepsis each year, while a total of 1.7 million cases occur annually. Research has shown that the early identification of sepsis prior to hospital admission is associated with decreased lengths of stay, hospital-associated costs, and overall mortality. To demonstrate this research, 26 healthcare staff members in an outpatient clinic were provided with a pre-survey, qSOFA sepsis screening tool, and a post survey to determine if these materials
increased participant confidence when …

Through The Lens Of Equity: Impacts Of Course Material Costs For Tennessee Community College Students, Elizabeth Spica

Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of this nonexperimental, multi-part dissertation was to explore issues of course material affordability for students at Tennessee community colleges. Data were drawn from two sources: a 53-item student survey (n = 1,912) and three years of anonymized outcomes data provided by the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR). Guided by Bensimon’s conceptual framework on equity in higher education (Bensimon, 2005, 2012), data for each study were disaggregated to examine findings through the lens of equity, with attention to three populations of concern for Tennessee higher education (race/ethnicity, low-income, and Adult Learners over age 25).

The first article, Prices …

February 18, 2021 Graduate Council Minutes, Graduate Council

Graduate Council Minutes

No abstract provided.

Curriculum Committee Report - January 21, 2021, Graduate Council

Curriculum Committee Reports

No abstract provided.

Proposing An Information Value Chain To Improve Information Services To Disabled Library Patrons Using Assistive Technologies, Devendra Potnis, Kevin Mallary

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Information services offered by academic libraries increasingly rely on assistive technologies (AT) to facilitate disabled patrons’ retrieval and use of information for learning and teaching. However, disabled patrons’ access to AT might not always lead to their use, resulting in the underutilization of information services offered by academic libraries. We adopt an inward-looking, service innovation perspective to improve information services for disabled patrons using AT. The open coding of qualitative responses collected from administrators and librarians in 186 academic libraries in public universities in the United States, reveals 10 mechanisms (i.e., modified work practices), which involve searching, compiling, mixing, framing, …

Principals’ Perspectives On Turning Around Failing Urban Middle Schools: A Study Of Change In Two Schools, Moniqueca Hicks

Doctoral Dissertations

Principal leadership plays an important role in the achievement of students. However, extant school reform literature notes that there is a shortage of highly qualified principals prepared to turn around failing schools, putting many students at risk. A multi-site qualitative case study was utilized and data was collected from two urban middle school principals through semi-structured interviews, observations and the collection of documents. This study examines how two urban middle school principals in the state of Tennessee, who have been successful in turning around a school, articulate their process and strategies for change. The method used in choosing the site …

3d Genome Architecture Under Stress: A Survey Of Ionizing Radiation, Progeria, And Osmotic Stress, Jacob Tyler Sanders

Doctoral Dissertations

The human nucleus contains 2 meters of DNA which is intricately folded into a three-dimensional (3D) structure. It has become increasingly clear that this 3D structure plays an important role in the expression of genes. Proper gene expression is necessary for cellular homeostasis, cell state, and response to environmental/physical perturbations. Faithful repair of damage DNA damage is necessary to prevent genomic aberrations, such as translocations, which may lead to misregulation of gene expression. Hi-C, a sequencing technique that labels proximal chromatin interactions, provides a clearer picture of how the genome is spatially organized within the nucleus. Here, we discuss the …

Acronym Usage In Groups: The Relationship Of Socialization And Identification, Dara K. Carney-Nedelman

Pursuit - The Journal of Undergraduate Research at The University of Tennessee

This study analyzed the relationship between knowledge of acronym meaning and group member’s socialization and identification. It examined the understudied relationship between knowledge of acronym meaning for group members and their socialization and identification in the group. Research has concluded that when assimilated into a group the group members contribute more, and overall have greater satisfaction (Riddle, Anderson, & Martin, 2000). This assimilation can be separated into two variables, socialization and identification of group members. Research on the relationship for knowledge of acronym meaning and assimilation has been understudied; therefore, this project explored how the terms we use in groups …

Best Practices For Managing Innovations In Public Libraries In The United States, Devendra Potnis, Joseph Winberry, Bonnie Finn

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Public libraries serve as anchors for thousands of communities across the country. Innovations are critical for the survival and relevance of public libraries in the country. Few studies, if any, identify the best practices for managing innovations in public libraries based on the experiential guidance shared by administrators of public libraries recognized for their innovations. This empirical study fills in the gap by identifying the challenges and solutions for managing innovations in public libraries in the United States. A thematic content analysis of qualitative responses collected through an online, anonymous survey of 219 administrators of 211 innovations in 106 urban …

Conceptualizing Organizational Growth By Biomimicking The Growth Of Genetically Modified Trees, Magdi Sindi

Doctoral Dissertations

The development of human-based organizations for the purpose of surviving during the transitional crisis periods is always faced with continuous challenges concurrently with the deployment of new technologies, with new competitors entering the market, with changes in customers’ needs, with new regulations enforced, etc. As a result of not successfully passing transitional crisis periods, many businesses go bankrupt every year, and therefore organizational developers need to consider new approaches for development. Biomimicry is one of the rising approaches that has not been studied well for organizational development purposes. Biomimicking trees inspire organizational developers in recent years. However, there is still …

The Use Of Intergroup Dialogue To Address Sexism In Stem Fields: A Qualitative Investigation, Brittany White

Doctoral Dissertations

The study examined the experiences of eight participants who partook in an intergroup dialogue (IGD) on gender and sexism in STEM, and the learning that resulted from this experience. Participants consisted of upper-level undergraduate students (junior and senior class rankings) as well as graduate students who were currently obtaining degrees in STEM fields. The study sought to understand how IGD members construct meaning of their experiences as those experiences relate to their understanding of interpersonal and systemic sexism in STEM. Grounded theory was used to code the data and generate categories that were organized into a conceptual framework which centered …

The Impact Of Batch Size On Worker Stress Perception, Ewerton Esdras Rodrigues De Araujo

Masters Theses

The current global competitiveness has led organizations to improve their processes, and Lean Production has been a responsive tool to cost reduction and efficiency improvement. Batch size plays an important role in production control, encompassing the introduction of Lean Production in several organizations. However, the application and sustainability of Lean Production have had their effectiveness contested. Several authors explain that the continuous search for improvement has created pressure among the workforce impacting their stress levels and well-being, causing issues in focus control, authority, moral disengagement, and others. This study aims to check the impact that Batch size has on the …

Tennessee's Promise: Education For All?, Tristan M. Hightower

Pursuit - The Journal of Undergraduate Research at The University of Tennessee

Access to education has been at the forefront of public policy issues over the past several years. In order to combat relatively low rates of college attainment, Tennessee legislators implemented the Tennessee Promise program. It operates by providing financial aid for any direct costs not covered by students’ grants and scholarships. Notably, the program is not applicable to four-year degree programs; students wishing to utilize the funds must attend select schools that offer certificates and associate’s degrees. Community colleges are the most popular. While a boost in community college attendance has occurred, and more people will likely graduate with an …

Annual Report 2018-2019, Elizabeth R. Degeorge

Portfolio/Annual Reports

This report chronicles the activities of the University of Tennessee College of Social Work under the leadership of Interim Dean David Dupper during the 2018-2019 year.

What Is Innovative To Public Libraries In The United States? A Perspective Of Library Administrators For Classifying Innovations, Devendra Potnis, Joseph Winberry, Bonnie Finn, Courtney Hunt

School of Information Sciences -- Faculty Publications and Other Works

Innovations are critical for public libraries but rarely any primary research studies the scope and interpretation of the term “innovation” by public libraries. Also, few of the existing innovation typologies are based on data collected from public libraries. This study fills in the gap by eliciting 80 innovations reported by the administrators of 108, award-winning public libraries in the United States, and proposes the first organic classification of innovations for public libraries, with the following four types of innovations: Program (access-oriented/use- oriented), Process (efficiency-driven/effectiveness-driven), Partnership (internal/external), and Technology (web-based technologies/assistive technologies/artificial intelligence). Findings can advance the state of innovations in …

Supreme Court Evaluation Of Federal Agency Actions, Jonathan G. Rose

Doctoral Dissertations

Interactions between the federal courts and agencies are an important but often overlooked part of the policy process. This study is an attempt to explore this area of the law by examining how the U.S. Supreme Court evaluates the actions taken by federal agencies. From a practical standpoint, such evaluation has a real impact on the means available to agencies and the outcomes they bring about. Normatively, how the Court does (or does not) go about holding agencies accountable to rules and procedures created by elected officials and the agencies themselves has serious implications for notions of democratic control of …

The Adoption Of Children's Mathematics Education In Public Libraries For Underserved Communities In The United States: An Exploratory Qualitative Study From A Critical Perspective, Frank Pancho Aviles

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the adoption of children’s mathematics education for underserved children in public libraries the United States from a critical perspective. This study specifically explored access and the role of power in the application of Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovations Theory (DoI) and the concept of culturally responsive mathematics instruction (CRMI) and utilized the critical exploratory research design that served to critique and challenge the notion that math education falls outside of the realm of library services and that math instruction is a culturally neutral activity. Application of the DoI theory to the phenomenon under …

Nsa Site Access: Twenty-Fifth Air Force’S $95m+ Problem, Shane Smith

Aerospace & Defense MBA Organizational Action Project Reports

This Organizational Action Project (OAP) examined and addressed security clearance-based delays for Twenty-Fifth Air Force (25 AF) airmen at National Security Agency (NSA) sites and other locations with that organization’s mission systems. The approximate personnel cost associated with this issue was $95.98M at the beginning of the OAP cycle. Across the enterprise, 985 airmen were unable to perform their missions due to this problem. Given its significance, the OAP focused on discovering initiatives that could be pursued at any stage of the security clearance granting process.

Data relevant to the issue was collected from our field units and published weekly …