Digital Commons Network^™

The Immigrant Experience Of Latina Mothers From A Strengths Perspective: A Focused Ethnography, Esperanza Gutierrez

Open Access Dissertations

Latina mothers are part of a rapidly growing ethnic minority group in the United States (U.S.). Researchers have largely illuminated their challenges and problems in their immigration process. A problem-oriented approach leads to labeling of the individual based on vulnerabilities, pathologies, and deficits. Nursing needs a greater emphasis on the strengths perspective, empirical studies, and a broader culturally based conception of strengths, including Latina mothers who immigrate to the U.S. A strengths perspective would be beneficial in encompassing Latina mothers’ capabilities and potentialities.

Focused ethnography was used to identify and describe the strengths of Latina mothers who immigrated to the …

Designing Accessible Computing Device Authentication For People With Upper Extremity Impairment, Brittany Lewis

Open Access Dissertations

Computing device authentication, the process of proving one's identity to a computing device (e.g., laptop, tablet, smart phone, etc.), is critical to protecting the sensitive data these devices contain. However, computing device authentication often makes assumptions about the user's ability to perform complex tasks with their arms, hands, and fingers. For example, entering complex passwords, or accurately positioning a camera for facial recognition. This can create barriers for people with upper extremity impairment (UEI) who have reduced strength, accuracy, dexterity, speed, and/or range of motion in their shoulders, upper arms, forearms, hands, and/or fingers. My goal is to design new, …

Hypoglycemia Screening In Term Normal Birth Weight Newborns: A Retrospective Electronic Health Record Review, Michelle G. Palmer

Open Access Dissertations

A gap in the evidence exists regarding screening of term normal birth weight newborns without identified risk factors for the presence of hypoglycemia. The purpose of this retrospective electronic health record review was to examine factors leading to and results associated with blood glucose screening of term normal birth weight newborns without previously identified risk factors for hypoglycemia.

The specific aims of this study were to: (a) determine if there were statistically significant differences between screened and unscreened full term, normal birth weight newborns without pre-existing identified risk factors for hypoglycemia by: gender, race, delayed cord clamping, skin-to-skin initiation and …

How Does Practicing Mindfulness Relate To Consumer Willingness To Attend Events Post-Pandemic?, Gillian N. Palmer

Open Access Dissertations

A TWO ESSAY DISSERTATION EXAMINING MINDFULNESS IN THE EVENTS INDUSTRY

The restrictions and social concerns that limited social interaction during the first eighteen months of the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the multi-trillion-dollar event industry, which includes large hallmark events like festivals and concerts and business events like trade shows. In addition to the impact made to the events industry, there was a social and mental wellness impact on consumers as they learned how to live a "new norm" lifestyle. As vaccines and reductions in social distancing guidelines opened a path to return to physical, in-person events, event …

Testing The Efficacy Of Behavioral Nudges For Reducing Plastic Bag Use And Perception Of Levy-Based Policy Among Retail Customers In Bangladesh, Md Tahsin Hasan

Open Access Dissertations

Over the last five decades, plastics have penetrated our lives slowly yet with such certainty that we cannot imagine a day without plastic products. From bottled water to injection syringes, we are submerged in plastics. Plastics have significantly improved human lifestyles and reduced living costs by providing cheap household items. However, it is also evident now that plastics threaten the natural environment and animal and human health. Specifically, single-use plastics are the most ubiquitous nuisance to the environment. Food packaging, pet bottles, and single-use plastic bags are the most found plastic items in household garbage. According to statistics from the …

Associations Between Stress, Intuitive Eating, And Adiposity In A Cohort Of Midlife Women, Bridget A. Owens

Open Access Dissertations

Stress and eating behaviors can influence the health of midlife women, a population at risk for weight gain and redistribution of fat to the abdominal area related to shifts in reproductive hormones and aging. Higher stress is associated with negative health outcomes such as increased abdominal adiposity, depression, and chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease. Women report higher stress and more emotional and physical side effects from stress than men and are more likely than men to engage in emotional eating in response to stress. Further, the desire to lose weight and the prevalence of body dissatisfaction is high among …

Product Management Organizational Structure And Product Performance In The Medical Device Industry, Michael Toomey

Open Access Dissertations

There is no standard organizational structure of the product management function within the medical device industry, which introduces the potential for insufficient understanding of trade-offs made by marketing leaders and the potential for impact upon product performance in a critical category.

This dissertation demonstrates that product/brand structure type and market structure type are common organizational structures among the marketing function within the medical device industry; and that a select variety of marketing tasks and marketing metrics contribute to a significant positive relationship with product performance. This empirical study includes a mixed methods approach to an exploratory research design.

The Outsider Within: The Experiences Of Black Francophone African Students In Higer Education, Safietou Sagna

Open Access Dissertations

The research focuses on Black Francophone African international (BFAI) students in the United States. Research on international students is dominated by studies focused on Asian international students. Moreover, the participants in several major studies related to African international students are primarily from Anglophone countries. As a result, the educational experiences of BFAI students are not adequately represented in the bigger narrative about African international students. This multiple case study centers the voices of four BFAI students (3 men and one woman) to gain a better understanding of the factors that positively and negatively affect their educational journeys. The results of …

“If You Are Trying To Help Students, You Should Probably Ask Them How You Can Help”: Testimonios Of Latina/O/ Hispanic College Students Who Persisted To Graduation, Joise Garzon

Open Access Dissertations

Latinx student enrollment in higher education institutions has been increasing and will continue to rise (McFarland et al., 2018), yet Latinx students have lower degree completion rates than their peers from other racial and ethnic backgrounds (National Center for Education Statistics, 2019). Higher education institutions need to learn directly from the lived experiences of this diverse population of students to better support their college completion efforts (Arbelo-Marrero & Milacci, 2018; Flink, 2018). The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of Latinx students who persisted to graduation at a four-year Hispanic Serving Institution by examining two research …

Experiences Of White Women Graduate Students In A Diversity And Inclusion Badge Program At A Predominantly White Institution In A Time Of Whitestream Racial Reckoning, Stefanie Argus

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore how white women engaged with interrogating whiteness, race, and racism after completing a multi-session diversity program designed for graduate students. This qualitative research project tends to the following research question: What are the lived experiences of white women who complete a diversity and inclusion program for graduate students?

For this research project, white women who are graduate students participated in in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Using critical whiteness theory, a feminist research framework, and interpretive phenomenological analysis, this study identified commonalities in experiences among participants (Creswell & Poth, 2018; van Manen, 2014). As is …

Missing Voices: A Formative Experiment To Improve Dialogue In One Online College Classroom During The Covid-19 Pandemic, P. Kevin Topper

Open Access Dissertations

Students’ voices are all too often missing in classrooms today. Research over the past 50 years has identified a number of problems associated with these missing voices. There are ingrained habits of “initiation-response-evaluation" (I-R-E) during which teachers assume responsibility for guiding classroom conversation and a tendency for many educators to engage in more monologic talk patterns. These classroom talk patterns intersect with several affective factors to significantly impede students’ full and genuine participation in learning. The purpose of this study was to develop and implement an intervention drawn from theories of dialogic pedagogy that I called Facilitated Participant-Centered Discussion (FPCD). …

The Effects Of Nudges In Acquiring New Clients In A Wealth Management Firm, Howard J. Holmes

Open Access Dissertations

Financial Advisors typically have strong backgrounds in finance, investments, and financial planning, but not marketing. Financial Advisors often need help in acquiring new clients and investment assets. To meet this need, businesses have evolved in lead generation and digital marketing, but they fail because they do not relate to the psychological needs of the investor. It is estimated that only 29% (Dickler, 2019; Godbout, 2021) of all investors have a Financial Advisor. This study researches two issues: the psychological impediments to an investor not seeking a Financial Advisor and Behavioral Economic tools such as Nudge to measure the impact of …

Executive Functioning Interventions For Individuals With Adhd: A Systematic Review, Lauren Thompson

Open Access Dissertations

Ongoing research regarding interventions for executive functions (EFs), the top-down cognitive processes that guide planning and decision-making behaviors, aims to determine whether intervention programs result in significant improvements in EFs for both neurotypical and neurodivergent populations (Diamond & Ling, 2016). EFs are critical because they predict performance in other daily living domains, including physical health, quality of life, and job performance (Cristofori et al., 2019; Diamond, 2013). Research has found that individuals with a variety of mental health disorders as well as neurodegenerative disease often perform poorly on EF tasks. Particular attention has been devoted to the study of EF …

Analyzing Factors That Contribute To Attrition Of Underrepresented Undergraduate Students In Computer Science, Noura Albarakati

Open Access Dissertations

In recent years, women and underrepresented minority students have made significant advances in traditionally White male-dominated majors. Nevertheless, they are still underrepresented in most STEM majors. Consequently, many institutions in Higher Education are exploring ways to deliver environments that support those underrepresented students’ retention in science and engineering. This study sheds some light on women and minority students’ underrepresentation in computer science by exploring factors associated with their retention in the field.

This dissertation starts with an exploratory analysis that examines the attrition rate of underrepresented students who switched to other majors compared to their majority peers and investigates any …

Risk And Protective Factors Associated With Opioid Use After In-Patient Detoxification, Megan M. Drohan

Open Access Dissertations

Objective: To identify risk and protective factors for return to opioid use post inpatient detoxification in a sample of persons with opioid use disorder (OUD).

Design and Methods: This study used data from a larger randomized controlled study following 206 eligible individuals who entered in-patient detoxification for OUD. Participants entered the study as part of the observation arm and were assessed for six months following in-patient detoxification. Timeline follow-back assessment was used to identify if and when participants returned to opioid use post-detoxification. A series of bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to identify risk and protective …

Environmental Context And Expectancy Of Alcohol Use On Changes In Reflection-Impulsivity And Craving, Christina T. Schulz

Open Access Dissertations

The present study primarily aimed to (a) determine the effects of environmental context and the expectancy of alcohol consumption on changes in reflection-impulsivity (R-I), a state behavioral aspect of impulsivity and (b) test R-I as a mediator of the association between environment, expectancy of alcohol consumption, and subjective craving for alcohol in a sample of college-aged heavy drinkers. Participants were 81 (76.5% female) college students between the ages of 21 and 29 (M = 21.86, SD = 1.87) who were classified as heavy drinkers. Participants first completed measures of alcohol use, trait impulsivity, behavioral R-I, and subjective craving for …

Simultaneous Alcohol And Marijuana Use: Associations With Alcohol Consequences Among At-Risk Youth, Daniel Delaney

Open Access Dissertations

Emerging research has examined simultaneous alcohol and marijuana (SAM). SAM use has been found to be associated with heavier substance use and adverse consequences. However, research so far has not focused on younger at-risk youth, or accounted for race and ethnicity as influencing SAM use or associated consequences. This study examined SAM use and alcohol-related consequences and risky behaviors in a diverse (N=576; 54% White, 24.7% Hispanic, 12.7% Black) sample of at-risk youth (9-18 years old) recruited from juvenile detention and community mental health centers. SAM use was more prevalent than alcohol or marijuana use alone in these settings. Analyses …

A Qualitative Exploration Of Alcohol And Other Drug Use Among Multiracial Young Adults, Tessa Nalven

Open Access Dissertations

The United States' Multiracial population (i.e., two or more races) increased by 276% between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, making it one of the fastest growing racial/ethnic demographic groups in the country. Research suggests that Multiracial young adults (i.e., 18-25 years old) report higher alcohol and other drug (AOD) use and are at a higher risk for AOD-related consequences than nearly all their monoracial counterparts. The present study conducted focus groups and utilized descriptive qualitative methodology to uncover factors associated with AOD use in Multiracial young adults. 22 participants (77.3% women, Mage = 20.8 years, SD = 2.6) were included …

Parenting Style And Help-Seeking For Child Anxiety And Depression: A Vignette Study, Hayley Pomerantz

Open Access Dissertations

Anxiety and depression are known to have a significant impact on the daily functioning of children and their families; yet only a fraction of diagnosed children receive treatment from professional mental health services. To better understand the discrepancy between high rates of child psychopathology and low rates of mental health service use, the current study examined parenting style and the time at which a parent decides to seek mental health treatment for their child. The current study hypothesized that parents would seek help when their child's symptoms and interference were moderate. It also hypothesized that parents with an authoritative or …

The Development Of An Inclusive Three-Item Gender Instrument, Angela Astorini

Open Access Dissertations

Existing gender instruments are not inclusive and sensitive to all persons of transgender and/or gender diverse experience (TGDE), individuals whose gender identity does not align with their sex assigned at birth according to the heteronormative sociocultural construct of gender (Flores et al. 2016; Meerwijk & Sevelius, 2017). The goal of this study was to use a mixed methods approach to develop a new three-item gender instrument that collects information from participants on their sex assigned at birth, gender identity, and the gender they live as in their day-to-day life (lived gender). This gender instrument would aid researchers and health professionals …

Do Good To Feel Good? Investigating Civic Engagement Among Non-College Young Adults, Natalie Fenn

Open Access Dissertations

Young adulthood is a period of transition during which individuals could greatly benefit from health promotion tools. Civic engagement has been touted as one potential form of health promotion given its association with positive well-being. However, researchers have primarily examined civic engagement as a health promotion tool among older adults and adolescents, and less is known about its mental health implications for young adults. Additionally, findings are more mixed among women and those from lower-socioeconomic populations perhaps because civic engagement is conceived as an extra burden. Less-educated individuals are less likely to civically engage and more likely to demonstrate mental …

Longitudinal Investigation Of Childhood Trauma And Emotiondriven Impulsivity, Svetlana Goncharenko

Open Access Dissertations

Exposure to childhood trauma is associated with numerous adverse psychological, physical, and behavioral health consequences. This highlight childhood trauma as a major public health problem. Addressing important gaps in the existing research, the proposed study clarifies the bidirectional and unique prospective associations between childhood trauma and both negative and positive emotion-driven impulsivity. This study utilized a sample of 11,872 participants from the ABCD study and conducted Cross Lagged Panel Models to evaluate the bisectional associations between childhood trauma and positive and negative emotion-driven impulsivity. Findings showed that earlier childhood trauma was associated with higher levels of later negative and positive …

Cognitive Reappraisal Vs. Acceptance: A Comparison Of Emotion Regulation Strategies To Reduce Anxiety, Ciara James

Open Access Dissertations

Emotion regulation consists of the skills and cognitive strategies used to alter different aspects of emotion, including the subjective and temporal experience of emotion, outward expression of emotion, the ways in which an emotional experience is interpreted, or the emotion-eliciting stimuli itself. Previous research has identified reappraisal, reframing the perception of an emotion-eliciting event to change the emotional experience, and acceptance, allowing the presence of thoughts following an emotional experience to pass through the mind in a nonjudgmental fashion, as adaptive strategies to use when managing negative emotions. The present study compared the efficacy of reappraisal and acceptance in reducing …

Longitudinal Clustering Of Health Behaviors Within The Framingham Heart Study, Nathan L. Baumann

Open Access Dissertations

Health risk behaviors (HRB) have been shown to impact non-communicable chronic disease (NCI) over the lifespan, which are among the leading causes of mortality within the United States. Treatment of NCI includes both pharmacological and behavior change intervention. Though behavior change recommendations are common in the treatment of NCI, our understanding of the long-term trajectory of HRB and how they cluster are not yet fully understood. The current study seeks to elucidate the clustering of specific health behavior changes over the lifespan, bolstering the potential for taking preventative measures as well as fostering positive health behavior change more broadly in …

Associations Among Affect, Alcohol Use, And Risky Sex: A Daily Diary Study Of First Nation Adults, Melissa R. Schick

Open Access Dissertations

Introduction: Optimal subjective well-being is comprised of high levels of positive affect, low levels of negative affect, and overall satisfaction with one’s life. Some literature has connected each component of subjective well-being with health risk behaviors including alcohol use and risky sexual behavior. While there is diversity in rates of alcohol use and risky sexual behavior among North American Indigenous (NAI) populations, they experience disproportionate rates of negative consequences associated with these behaviors (e.g., physical, social, legal). Approaches to reducing health disparities that emphasize improving well-being may be well-accepted among NAI communities given their calls to focus on protective, …

An Evaluation Of The Effectiveness And Safety Of Direct Oral Anticoagulants Versus Warfarin In Chronic Liver Disease, And After Anticoagulant-Related Major Bleeding, Oluwadolapo D. Lawal

Open Access Dissertations

The introduction of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in the last decade have greatly expanded available treatment options for the management of thromboembolic diseases. Based on their non-inferiority in efficacy and safety, and more convenient dose monitoring and adjustment compared to warfarin, DOACs are now considered the first-line treatment option in the management and prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE) and nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). While the use of DOACs continues to increase in the general population, limited evidence exists to support its use in chronic liver disease (CLD). Of note, individuals with elevated liver enzymes, liver cirrhosis or CLD were excluded …

Brain Health Perceptions Questionnaire: Further Development And Refinement, Caitlin Michelle Ogram Buckley

Open Access Dissertations

The promotion of brain health is often perceived through an illness model, as research tends to focus on neurodegenerative disease risk reduction. However, research indicates that healthy individuals can potentially improve their cognitive performance through the adoption of health-promoting behaviors such as diet, exercise, and the management of cerebrovascular risk factors. There remains a need for validated instruments measuring the public's perceptions about cognitive health, a need this study addressed by further refining a quantitative measure of brain health knowledge and beliefs, the Brain Health Perceptions Questionnaire (BHPQ). Principal Components Analysis resulted in a 23-item questionnaire composed of five subscales …

Gender-Specific Experiences Of Women Undergraduate Stem Students In Online Mathematics Courses During A Pandemic, Erika R. Fiore

Open Access Dissertations

Introductory college math courses have proven to be a significant barrier to degree completion for students in STEM. In particular, research shows women are more likely to leave STEM fields after failing a math course than their male peers. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic beginning in March of 2020, most students and instructors across the globe were forced to learn and teach in an online format. Many of these students and instructors were dissatisfied with their online experience, while others began to realize the opportunities that online learning has to offer, especially for some marginalized populations. This phenomenological dissertation investigates …

What Is Classical Education? Using Curriculum Theory To Define A Classical Approach To K-12 Schooling, Jessica Lynne Richardi

Open Access Dissertations

Results indicate that classical schools tend to value and emphasize coredisciplines such as English Language Arts and mathematics as well as Latin. Nearly half the schools in the study reported use of the Core Knowledge Sequence to deliver core content. Curricular goals and overall purpose appear to vary by school, but classical schools across the affiliation groups in this study prioritize character formation, articulate expression, and a disposition toward truth, goodness, and beauty. Approximately half of the classical schools in the sample report use of the trivium to and consider it a model for cognitive development. An emphasis on learning …

I See You!: Centering The Lived Experiences Of Collegiate Black Women Engaged In Activism, Chiquita K. Baylor

Open Access Dissertations

Throughout American history, collegiate Black women have been at the forefront of many social and political movements in the United States. However, their voices, experiences, and perspectives have been erased, gone untold, or been excluded from the history, stories, and research on activism, leaving their experience to be interrupted or relayed by someone else. This qualitative research study illuminates the lived experiences of collegiate Black women who engage in activism. Using Sista Circle methodology, a culturally relevant- qualitative research approach, and Black feminist thought as the theoretical framework, this study seeks to explore how ten collegiate Black women from a …