Digital Commons Network^™

Learning To Be Trauma-Informed: An Examination Of Individual-Level Factors Predicting Perceptions Of And Response To Trauma-Informed Practice Trainings, Kelly Daniel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Trauma is a substantial threat to public health. As such, significant effort has been exerted into developing interventions which mitigate the consequences of trauma. Trauma-informed practice (TIP) aims to alleviate the effects of trauma by building policies and practices focused on safety, trust, transparency, support, collaboration, and empowerment. This study investigated how individual-level factors, including readiness for organizational change, perceived benefit of TIP training, and personal trauma history affect one’s ability to apply a TIP lens in a sample (n =100) of members of a graduate-level college. Further, it explored if one’s perceptions of and response to trauma-informed practice training …

Putting The Lawyer First: Framing Well-Being In Law As An Ethical Dilemma, Aric Short

Mercer Law Review

A disturbingly high percentage of our students continue to be unwell. In the most recent and comprehensive survey of law student well-being in 2021, almost 70% of law students responded that, in the past twelve months, they believed they needed to seek help for emotional or mental health problems. Embedded screening tools in the survey suggested that 34% of respondents were clinically depressed and 54% suffered from clinical anxiety. 44% of respondents reported being drunk in the past thirty days, 33% had engaged in binge drinking in the preceding two weeks, and 38% had smoked marijuana in the past twelve …

Principals As Instructional Leaders: Supporting New Middle School Principals To Implement Systems Allowing For Instructional Leadership, Jason Kaiz

Dissertations

This study is a collection, interpretation, and, eventually, recommendations based on data collected through interviews with current middle school principals. The research questions examine how middle school principals can increase their effectiveness as an instructional leader within the building. The research begins by examining the factors contributing to the principal being an instructional leader and what systems can be implemented to support this goal. These systems should include the ability for principals to facilitate learning for staff, just as staff facilitate learning within their classroom. Policy implications and recommendations highlight the need to look at resources available for principals as …

The Influence Of Trauma And Tradition In Culinary Conformity And Chef Retention: Is Institutional Isomorphism Forcing Culinary Homogeneity Impacting Chef Retention?, Kevin Ward

Dublin Gastronomy Symposium

For chefs, the kitchen is not merely a workplace. It is a complex socio-cultural domain shaped by history, tradition, and societal expectations, where a separate world view is shared, along with the ritual customs, artefacts and practices that define them as a tribe. Indeed chefs have a distinctive transformative power as role models, with the capacity to bestow symbolic meaning to food, the fabric of our memories, societies, and daily practices. The culinary domain, like any other institution, is defined not solely by its creations, but also by its perpetuated lived experiences including traumas, memories or traces, created and preserved …

Reducing Inpatient Falls Utilizing Multimodal Standardized Patient Education: An Evidence-Based Practice Project, Sheryl Almandrez

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

Purpose of Project: This project aims to utilize multimodal standardized patient education as an evidence-based practice intervention to reduce inpatient falls.

Background: In 2022, Kaiser Foundation Hospital (KFH) San Diego had 116 falls. Inpatient falls with injury account for the second-highest Joint Commission (TJC) sentinel event and California Department of Public Health (CDPH) adverse events. These injuries include lacerations, subdural hematoma, subdural hemorrhage, hip fractures, and wrist fractures. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have also stopped reimbursing hospitals for the care provided after patients have sustained a fall with injury.

The project was implemented at KFH-San Diego …

Organizational Ingenuity And Its Relationship To Institutional Excellence Among Government School Principals In Mafraq Governorate, Nisreen Al-Sabihat, Muneera Al-Shurman

Jordan Journal of Applied Science-Humanities Series

This study aimed to reveal the organizational ingenuity of government school principals in Mafraq Governorate and their relationship to institutional excellence. The study sample consisted of (350) teachers who were randomly selected. A questionnaire was developed and used for collecting data, after its validity and reliability were confirmed. In its first part, the questionnaire consists of (26) items that measure organizational ingenuity, and the second part consists of (25) items that measure institutional excellence. The results of the study revealed that the degree of availability of organizational ingenuity among government school principals in Mafraq governorate was moderate. There were no …

Organizational School Resilience In Arab Schools In Haifa District Within The Green Line From Teacher's Perspective, Wafa Zeidan, Ahmad Rathwan

Jordan Journal of Applied Science-Humanities Series

This study aimed to identify the level of organizational school resilience in Arab schools in Haifa district within the Green Line from teacher's perspective, and to know the effect of the variables gender, academic qualification, years of experience and type of school on that level. The study sample consisted of 382 teachers, who were chosen by the simple random method, a questionnaire was used as a tool for collecting the necessary data to achieve the objectives of the study, and the descriptive survey method was used. The results of the study showed that the level of Organizational School Resilience in …

Predicting Government Non-Manager Employees’ Creative Self-Concept Based On Their Leaders’ Transformational Leadership Qualities, Steven R. Palmer

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative non-experimental, predictive, correlational study aimed to evaluate the predictive relationship between government leaders exercising transformational leadership attributes and government service employees' potential to engage in creative problem-solving. This study contributes to the existing knowledge on leadership and creative self-concept by focusing on the government civilian service sector. This sector represents a large population with limited exposure to the correlation between leadership and creativity. The sample for this study was 1,432 engineering and contracting professionals from a government acquisition center in northern Alabama who designed and built weapons systems for combat forces. The data analysis included 609 participants. The …

Learners' Lived Experiences For Filling Out A Professional Development Program's Formal Evaluation After Learning About The Kirkpatrick Evaluation Framework: A Transcendental Phenomenology Study, Judine Eleanor Bishop

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenology study was to discover learners’ lived experiences for filling out a formal evaluation to complete a professional development program about the Kirkpatrick Evaluation Framework for African American librarians and educators who are members of a Black Caucus affiliate group. The theory guiding this study was the adult learning theory by Knowles et al., who hypothesized that adults learn by using self-direction to build on their experiences knowing why training courses will benefit their lives. The adult learning theory provided a framework to answer the central research question and two sub-questions: (CRQ) What are learners’ …

A Study Of Followership In An Organizational-Wide Change Of The Ministry Of Child Evangelism Fellowship, Michelle M. Russell

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The influence of Child Evangelism Fellowship saw a significant increase across the United States of America after an organizational change following a 2001 Supreme Court case ruling. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the role of followership on the change and followership principles that emerged during the change that was implemented following the ruling Good News Club v. Milford Central School on the Good News Club ministry of Child Evangelism Fellowship. Organizational change was defined as intentional actions promoted by leadership and intentional actions taken by followers who took advantage of the rights guaranteed by the ruling. …

Mental Toughness In The Workplace, Maiah E. Taylor

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Within the realm of the modern work organization, the employers role on employees’ mental health has emerged as a critical factor concerning job attrition. Frequently, work organizations prioritize their productivity and output, rather than recognizing the importance of individual contributions as a reflection of their well-being. Research on workplace satisfaction and adversity management has failed to address the challenges that non-military or law enforcement populations face in retaining talent. Current research on mental toughness, resilience, and grit has overlooked the importance of civilian population training interventions, leaving a gap in the literature. This mixed-method study used an explanatory sequential design, …

Effects Of Covid-19 On Mental Health Workers' Job Satisfaction, Employee Burnout, And Intent To Leave, Colton Jacobs

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The COVID-19 disease emerged in December 2019 and created a worldwide pandemic. As the COVID-19 virus spread, healthcare workers faced increased workloads and burnout due to increased stress. With a current abundance of research to better understand how the pandemic affected healthcare workers, minimal research has been conducted to investigate the effects on mental health workers. It is imperative to better understand how the consequences of the pandemic affected mental health workers due to their importance in supporting the mental well-being of our communities. This study focused on how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced job satisfaction, burnout syndrome, and intent to …

Who We Are Is How We Lead: Storytelling As An Intervention In A Manager Development Program, Brittany Grieb

Dissertations

Leadership development programs (LDPs) have long been recognized as a means for organizations to develop their leaders, yet studies on their efficacy or use of creative interventions are limited. Despite the plethora of leadership studies that exist today, research is still seeking to answer the question: what is the best way to develop leaders? This qualitative study sought to investigate how storytelling can be used as an intervention for leadership development in a manager development program (MDP), an LDP for entry-level to midlevel managers at a biotechnology corporation. Using storytelling as an Indigenous model for knowledge cocreation as a framework, …

Intercultural Perspectives On Managing Organizational Change In Response To Government Policy Reform: A Case Study On The Leadership Of New Oriental Education, Yihe Yang

Dissertations

In 2021, a policy aimed at addressing educational inequality triggered a significant upheaval in the private tutoring sector of China by fundamentally transforming prevailing business models and financial viability within the industry. New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. (New Oriental Education), one of the preeminent private tutoring enterprises in China, attracted considerable attention for its subsequent organizational change. This study explored the leadership dynamics and organizational change efforts implemented by New Oriental after the policy enactment.

The theoretical framework synthesized organizational change theory, organizational culture, and transformative leadership approaches from both Western and Chinese perspectives. It elucidated effective practices …

Navigating The Bow Wave Of Change: The Felt Experience Of Belonging To The United States Naval Academy's First Gender-Integrated Class, Peter Shaner

Dissertations

On July 6, 1976 the United States Naval Academy (USNA) admitted its first-ever gender-integrated class. I was a member of that class, along with 81 female classmates who entered USNA with the class of 1980 (USNA ‘80). Those classmates were pioneers, though few of them realized at the time just how long and how hard their journey would be. The numerous challenges faced by USNA ‘80 on their journey through the Academy have been well documented (Gelfand, 2008). But there has been far less research on the lived experience of that pioneering class. This study fills a gap between historical …

One Stitch At A Time: Examining The Self-Care Of Art Therapists And The Potential Of Fiber Arts For Wellbeing, Elaine Chippero

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The goal of this thesis was to understand why art therapists are particularly at risk for burnout, why it is essential for art therapists to engage artmaking for their own self-care, and why fiber crafts are particularly suited for self-care. The literature was collected and organized using reflective journaling and visual–tactile coding and then presented in the following review. The first two sections of the literature review include comprehensive definitions of burnout and self-care and how both concepts have been discussed in literature relating to the helping professions and specifically art therapists. The third section covers the historical context of …

A Phenomenological Study On The Perceived Impact Of Bass's Four I'S Of Transformational Leadership, Yarissa Marn

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to identify and describe World of Warcraft game leaders’ perceptions of the impact on their guilds regarding Bass’s 4 I’s of transformational leadership.

Methodology: This qualitative study interviewed 13 World of Warcraft game leaders who have led their guild members for at least one year. The main source of data collection was semi-structured open-ended interview questions with other resources to include artifacts. The researcher coded and analyzed data for themes and patterns.

Findings: Several domains of Bass’s Four I’s Transformational Leadership framework were found to have an impact on World of Warcraft …

Enhancing Pain Documentation In Medical Surgical Units: Integrating Supportive Tools With Pain Nursing Education, Mariana Arias

Master's Projects and Capstones

Problem: Pain management in in-patient care, particularly involving opioids, is critical due to the associated risks. Proper pain assessment is essential to ensure safe medication administration and mitigate adverse effects.

Context: This quality improvement (QI) project aimed to improve opioid assessment and documentation rate above 90% compliance in two medical-surgical units, focusing on bedside nurses who play a crucial role in patient safety and effective pain management.

Interventions: A baseline survey provided nurses' understanding on compliance criteria and assessment timing. Interventions included visual reminders, informational posters, and instructions on how to access individual compliance reports.

Measures: A post intervention survey …

Increasing Awareness And Communication To Decrease Catheter Days In The Surgical Intensive Care Unit, Kamila Fortney

Master's Projects and Capstones

Problem Nurse-driven removal protocols (NRDPs) have been shown to reduce indwelling urinary catheter (IUC) days and prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs). Communication barriers prevent consistent implementation of the NDRP, leading to delayed IUC removal and increased risk of CAUTIs. Context The project was conducted in a 16-bed adult surgical intensive care unit (ICU) at a teaching hospital in a major metropolitan area. Interventions Urinary catheter reminder posters displaying IUC days were posted at each bedside to prompt discussion of IUC indication and removal. An email describing the project background was sent to all nurses and physicians by the unit …

Challenging The Cancer Of Consumerism Ravaging The American Protestant Church, John A. Thompson Ii

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The American Protestant church is sick and, in some cases, dying. The primary factors adversely influencing the church contribute to church members’ warped view of Christianity. The American church is suffering from individualism, consumerism, and uncommitted Christianity. The church may be described as critically ill, and in the I.C.U. The purpose of this study was to address the effects of this cultural illness as it has impacted the people and ministry of Kingdom Life Community Church. This topic is chosen because of the researcher’s experience serving as the church’s lead pastor, observing members approach the church with a consumer bias. …

Wellness In Licensed Professional Counselors: Counselor Perception Of Documentation Expectations On Professional Satisfaction, Aleta Seay Gibbs

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Counselors are important parts of a community, helping people heal and learn to cope with life. Communities are seeing staffing shortages, counselors leaving the field, and increasing mental health needs of residents. During the COVID-19 pandemic, regulations concerning documentation requirements and service provision rapidly changed, often several times. Counselors were permitted different ways of doing things in light of the constraints imposed by the virus. This included a reduction of how much documentation is required and might have included reductions in paperwork, policy changes, and service provision exceptions for licensed professional counselors (LPCs), like switching to telehealth for health and …

Virtual Coaching, Self-Directed Learning, And The Implementation Of Evidence-Based Practices: A Single Qualitative Case Study, Elisabeth Myers

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this single instrumental case study was to understand how a virtual coaching program provides opportunities for self-directed learning during the implementation of evidence-based practices for adults at Navigator Coaching. The theory guiding this study was Deci and Ryan’s self-determination theory as conceptualizations of self-directed learning described in the literature mirror descriptions of self-determination. The central research question was: How does a virtual coaching program provide opportunities for self-directed learning during the implementation of evidence-based practices? As a single instrumental case, the setting for this study was one virtual life-coaching program in North America. The sample of participants …

K-12 Teachers’ Experience With Professional Development On Implementing Intervention For Cognitive Reading Disorders And Dyslexia: A Qualitative Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study, Rosemary Balestieri

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to understand the experiences of the 10 K-12 teacher participants who may implement instruction and interventions for students who struggle with cognitive reading disorders and dyslexia. Instruction for intervention of cognitive reading disorders at the K-12 education level was generally defined as the multisensory approach more commonly found in schools. Instructional methods of 10 teachers at the K-12 education level for cognitive reading disorders was explored by implementing the central research question (CRQ), “What are the experiences of K-12 teachers who receive professional development to provide cognitive reading instruction with interventions specific to …

Special Education Teacher Perspective On Implementation Of Assistive Technology Among Students With High-Incidence Disabilities, Olga Volkov

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of implementing assistive technology with students who have high-incidence disabilities for special education teachers at a large school district. The theory guiding this study was Bandura’s self-efficacy theory. Self-efficacy is one’s belief in one’s capabilities to organize a course of action to achieve a desired outcome. Self-efficacy determines how individuals think, behave, and self-motivate. Previous studies that investigated technology utilization in schools found that teachers’ self-efficacy is one of the key factors in determining and predicting technology integration. The study employed hermeneutic phenomenology as its research methodology. A …

Impact Of Leadership Decisions On Police Officer Well-Being: A Covid-19 Response, Jason N. Spencer

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative dissertation research project is to determine the impact that law enforcement leaders, their leadership styles, and decision-making processes have on the well-being of police officers. This study sought to understand this impact by focusing on the perspectives of frontline police officers, detectives, and first-line supervisors from various law enforcement organizations in the Central Virginia Region and within the context of leadership decisions made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the constructivist grounded theory approach to research design, 12 participants responded to an initial qualitative questionnaire, followed by a semi-structured interview to gain the rich, …

Formalized Succession Planning: A Need In East Tennessee Health Departments, Elizabeth A. Maples

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Gaps in employment competencies can hinder the government from serving the public and the community. The lack of succession planning and the turnover of employees can cause unnecessary strain and unstable situations within an organization. This problem can lead to decreased productivity. Undefined criteria for potential candidates remain an issue of succession planning because leaders have no best way to compare or evaluate applicants. With a growing need to fill jobs, employers complain about a lack of qualified workers. While research included the importance of succession planning, this study will include the need for a formalized succession planning process with …

Reducing Delirium In Post-Surgical Patients Through Pre-Operative Risk Assessment Screening: A Policy Option, Skye Porter Berg Msn, Fnp

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

One of the major complications and reasons for prolonged stay amongst patients who undergo surgery is related to the occurrence of hospital associated delirium. Unfamiliar environment, previous comorbidities, age and anesthesia can alter and affect cognitive status in the general population. While there is substantial evidence previously listing high risk patients through demographics as well as prior medical history, this study collectively gathers information based upon prior evidence-based practice data to determine the benefit of prescreening patients through use of a predictive indicator tool. Based on the literature review and inclusion data gathered from fifty patients undergoing surgery, it was …

[Re]Thinking Digital Infrastructure: Centering Humans In Integrated Systems Work, Mark Lane, Bodeene Amyot Cairdeas, Rebecca B. French, Jody Condit Fagan

Libraries

In this talk, librarians and archivists from an academic library will discuss establishing and cultivating a Digital Infrastructure Working Group (DIWG). The DIWG was born out of a need to create interoperability between metadata, preservation, discovery, and access systems for archival materials, and demanded a radical rethinking of prior organizational approaches to digital asset curation, including leveraging available APIs and vendor contracted system development. Learn how team members approached technological work by centering each other’s well-being and intentionally making visible the often-invisible human labor invested in developing and maintaining digital infrastructure. We will share how the DIWG challenged organizational silos, …

Experiences Of Women Trustees: A Qualitative Multi-Case Study Of Women Trustees At Private Religious Colleges In The South, Amanda Main

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

In the United States, women are underrepresented on college governing boards and trusteeships, occupying only about one-third of those positions (Madsen & Longman, 2020). In the Southern United States, female representation is dramatically lower, with women holding somewhere between 11-15% of those board positions (Madsen & Longman, 2020). Feminist research identifies persistent sexism as the reason for the continued gender inequities. Sexism in social and organizational structures may present as microaggressions, a lack of agency, lack of female role models and mentors, explicit and inherent gender-based biases, lack of flexibility in work arrangements, and women being assigned work that does …

A Phenomenological Study On The Impact Of The Experience Of A College Merger On Employee Engagement, Satisfaction, And Burnout In Faculty, Staff, And Administrators At Minnesota North College, Molly Elise Franz

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Higher education institutions were becoming more competitive due to meeting the needs of changing demographics of prospective students, increasing costs of tuition, fees, and operations, meeting workforce demands, providing access to high quality technology tools, and more. A merger process impacted employee engagement, satisfaction and burnout. It was important for administrators in higher education to create and maintain a supportive and inclusive culture for employees, especially during each stage of the merger process. It was also important to clearly communicate the purpose of the merger, and to provide employees an opportunity to engage with the planning and implementation stages of …