Digital Commons Network^™

Organizational Cultural Entrenchment: Exploring Cultural Antecedents Of Actively Destructive Employee Behaviors As A Manifestation Of Voice In Mergers And Acquisitions, Keith Dellano Holloway

Theses and Dissertations

Mergers and acquisitions are frequently leveraged as a vehicle for company growth. However, many of these transactions fail to yield a positive result and often cause a net loss of shareholder value.

There are many interrelated factors at work within a merger or acquisition. Structure, leadership, finances, strategic fit, market, and price are just a few variables to consider. However, the factor of culture, and the failure of cultural integration, has surfaced in literature as a significant contributor to losses within mergers and acquisitions.

This study built on the work of Harris, Hirschman, Kotter, and Schlesinger and examined the deleterious …

Progressive Neurochemical, Neuroinflammatory And Cognitive Deficits In An Experimental Model Of Gulf War Illness, Hannah Elizabeth Burzynski

Theses and Dissertations

Gulf War Illness (GWI) is a multi-symptom illness that presents with cognitive disturbances and immune dysregulation and continues to affect over 25% of Gulf War veterans. While soldiers were exposed to several hazards in the Gulf, the prophylactic use of the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, pyridostigmine bromide (PB) and war-related stress have been identified as chief factors in GWI pathology. As both PB and stress alter acetylcholine (ACh), a critical mediator of cognition and inflammation, the focus of my dissertation work was investigating the lasting effects of PB and stress on peripheral and central cholinergic signaling. Specifically, I assessed hippocampal-dependent learning and …

Circularly-Shifted Chirps For Triple Functionality: Communications, Radar, And Computation, Safi Shams Muhtasimul Hoque

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents circularly-shifted chirps (CSCs), synthesized within orthogonal frequency domain multiplexing (OFDM) framework, as a novel solution for integrating radar, communication, and computation functionalities to a wireless network. Firstly, {index modulation (IM)} with circularly-shifted chirps (CSCs) (CSC-IM) for dual-function radar and communication (DFRC) system is discussed. The proposed scheme encodes the information bits with the CSC indices and the phase-shift keying (PSK) symbols. It allows the receiver to exploit the frequency selectivity naturally in fading channels by combining IM and wideband CSCs. It also leverages the fact that a CSC is a constant-envelope signal to achieve a controllable peak-to-mean …

Unveiling The Lifeworld Of Educators’ Social Justice Journeys: A Phenomenological Investigation, Maria Rocas Halkias

Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this qualitative phenomenological action research was to explore the viewpoints of educators participating in a community of practice that integrates the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework with culturally responsive teaching and personalized learning. The study involved six teachers from a competitive public school district in New Jersey. Data collection methods encompassed weekly reflections, researcher’s field notes, audio-recorded sessions, and interviews. The study yielded valuable insights into organizational frameworks and learning strategies that enhance educators’ ongoing reflective practices, while also advocating for districts to allocate resources to support teachers' continuous personalized professional development. Analysis of the findings …

The Context And The Commissioner: The Effect Of Milwaukee’S Health Commissioners’ Social, Cultural, And Historical Understanding Of Milwaukee’S People During The Last Five Pandemics, Madeline O'Dea Fruehe

Theses and Dissertations

Resistance to pandemic response policies was observed globally throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. This resistance has been linked by researchers to the prolonged duration and higher mortality rate of COVID-19 compared to previous pandemics, despite advancements in modern medicine, extensive surveillance networks and record vaccine production. However, the strategies implemented by public health officials during the COVID-19 pandemic closely mirrored those successful in mitigating past pandemics. To elucidate this disparity, a historical analysis encompassing the 1918, 1957, 1968, 2009, and Covid-19 pandemics was conducted within the city of Milwaukee. By examining archival documents and over 800 newspaper articles, this research found …

Neural Mechanisms Of Lexical Semantics: Investigating The Roles Of Hubs And Distributed Action-Perception Systems, Nicholas Andrew Riccardi

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the meaning of words and concepts is vital for communication, forming relationships, and navigating everyday life. Loss of this knowledge through brain damage can have drastic consequences for one’s health and well-being. It is therefore important to learn how this information is organized anatomically in the brain. In this dissertation, I report a series of structural and functional neuroimaging studies in healthy adults and survivors of stroke seeking to understand how lexical semantics are represented. Specifically, I used a variety of tasks to examine the contributions of putative ‘hubs’ and distributed action-perception systems. Results indicated that damage or disruption …

Dad Talk: Father-Child Communication When A Parent Has Cancer, Elizabeth A. Reed

Theses and Dissertations

Most individuals are impacted by a cancer diagnosis, in fact 54% of Americans say they or someone in their immediate family has been diagnosed with cancer at some point (CBS Interactive, 2017). While most Americans have a family member with cancer, most research has been done to understand the mother-daughter relationship during such a time. Unfortunately, there is little research regarding father-child communication during a cancer diagnosis, and father-child communication is understudied. The father-child dyad is an important relationship that impacts a child throughout their lives (Fellers & Schrodt, 2021). To further understand these relationships and how cancer may impact …

Human Capital Advantage From Fortitude, Resilience, And Perseverance Of Minority Ceos In Stem Organizations: A Phenomenological Study, Torin Mordel Malone

Theses and Dissertations

This research study explored how the inherent lived experiences of minorities can foster the attributes of strength and stamina, collectively referred to as the fortitude, resilience, and perseverance (FRP) of minority executive-level leadership. Specifically, this research considered the lived experiences of ten minority CEOs and assessed the influence of how they lead and communicate within their organizations. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to discover if and how the attributes of FRP could distinctively serve as a human capital advantage for organizations to consider with regard to utilizing minority executive-level leadership. The implication is that the greater understanding …

A Flood Of Information: Assessing The Effectiveness Of An Enhanced Flash Flood Warning Social Media Graphic, Christopher John Long

Theses and Dissertations

Flash flooding is the most frequent and damaging type of severe weather globally. In the United States, heat is the only weather-related cause of death more frequent than flooding. However, while the number of deaths associated with other types of severe weather has decreased since the 1950s, the number of flash flood-related deaths has remained steady. Therefore, there exists a need to improve flash flood warning communication.

In this project, it is hypothesized that improving the National Weather Service’s flash flood warning social media graphic by including areas that commonly flood may increase individuals’ perceived storm risk, their intended compliance …

Genomics-Informed Nursing Care: A Survey Of Nicu Nurses' Experience And Perspectives Related To Genomic Sequencing, Rachel I. Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Genomic sequencing is used in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) to diagnose babies with genetic disorders. Purpose: To explore the experiences and knowledge of nurses working in NICUs related to genomic sequencing. Methods: This was a mixed-methods, cross-sectional descriptive survey of NICU nurses attending a national conference. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data were coded into categories and themes. Results: Of 188 NICU nurses, nearly half reported experience with genomic sequencing. Among nurses with experience, 62.7% rated the amount of discussion they had with families about genomic sequencing as "0". Additionally, 72.7% of participants reported …

Communication About Pornography And Relationship Quality In Different-Gender Couples, Rachel Ann Augustus

Theses and Dissertations

Scholars have begun to suggest factors that explain and influence the association between pornography use and relationship outcomes but further work is still needed. Communication about pornography is one variable that may be influential but it has yet to be considered in this way. Using a dyadic sample of 713 different-gender couples, I used Actor-Partner Structural Equation Modeling to analyze associations between pornography use (male pornography use, joint pornography use and female pornography use) and relational quality (from the perspective of each partner, respectively), associations between communication about pornography and relationship quality. Communication about pornography was also considered as a …

Confronting Barriers To Human-Robot Cooperation: Balancing Efficiency And Risk In Machine Behavior, Tim Whiting

Theses and Dissertations

In strategically rich settings in which machines and people do not fully share the same preferences, machines must learn to cooperate and compromise with people to establish mutually successful relationships. However, designing machines that effectively cooperate with people in these settings is difficult due to a variety of technical and psychological challenges. To better understand these challenges, we conducted a series of user studies in which we investigated human-human, robot-robot, and human-robot cooperation in a simple, yet strategically rich, resource-sharing scenario called the Block Dilemma, a game in which players must balance fairness, efficiency, and risk. While both human-human and …

An Analysis Of Telework Performance During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Patrick J. Lopez

Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic forced many individuals to shift from an atmosphere of face-to-face work to the digital work environment known as telework. Telework is an effective mitigation tool that ensures the continuity of operations. However, maximized telework may not be effective for all individuals. Many individual, organizational, and group level factors influence one’s telework performance and this study examines four of the most influential antecedents. Using linear regression analysis, conscientiousness, overload, communication, and non-distractibility were found to be significant predictors that account for over half the variance explained in telework performance. Supported by self-regulation theories, both conscientiousness and non-distractibility contained …

Communication Fatigue Among Egyptian School Teachers, Nahla El Gendy

Theses and Dissertations

Communication fatigue is a situation when a person is no longer able to engage in communication. This study, which is one of the very first in the field, determines the antecedents and consequences of communication fatigue among Egyptian school teachers to be used as a guide for decision makers in the educational sector. Communication between teachers and students is fundamental in the learning process and understanding the antecedents and consequences of communication fatigue is meant to improve the communication between teachers and students and positively reflect on the learning process.

This study answers three main research questions: What is communication …

Everyone A Mode, Everyone A Voice: Critical Pedagogy And Community College Student Perceptions Of Multimodal Practices Over Traditional Writing, Marina Delvecchio

Theses and Dissertations

Using a sequential explanatory mixed methods design, this study was designed to acquire quantitative and qualitative data that expose community college student perceptions on multimodal compositions compared to traditional writing practices. As traditional writing continues to be privileged in college writing classrooms, a critical pedagogy theoretical framework was used to frame the research to explore how this privilege affects the learning of marginalized students. Through the collection of survey data and interviews with students, this mixed methods study was designed to reveal how being assigned multimodal practices over traditional writing for low-stakes assignments improves the learning environments of students and …

Very Young Child Survivors Of Parent Suicide: Perspectives On Children's Literature For Bibliotherapy, Cortland L. Watson

Theses and Dissertations

The death of a parent by suicide is especially traumatic. Researchers estimate the number of children in the United States annually who experience their parent's suicide ranges from 7,000 to 30,000. These child survivors experience more complicated grief as compared to children bereaved by a parent's non-suicidal death. In particular, very young children have difficulty understanding that their parent completed suicide. Across time they struggle with confusion and intense emotions associated with their parent's suicide. Due to the stigma associated with suicide, feelings of guilt, and intense grief, surviving family members avoid talking about the suicide. Young children are often …

Water Gets Lost In The Sea, Sun Gets Lost In The Desert, Rocio Paz Guerrero

Theses and Dissertations

The absence of happiness, the absence of nature, the absence of justice, the absence of absence, which is presence. My desire is to make these voids visible and sensible by connecting to and with others, from our intimate and collective life experiences, with empathy, and by sharing. Through a hybrid of sculpture, installation, and performance, I move within this tense in-between space, asking myself about that void, if it is possible for it to be filled, or if it is perhaps too big, or if it is perhaps too late.

Togetherness For Mission In Catholic Secondary Schools, Jonathan Mangar

Theses and Dissertations

Relationships are central to education, especially in Catholic schools, where love for others is espoused as a core value. Most studies of professional relationships among educators are focused on routines, processes, and classroom standards. The present study aims to expand this discussion into the human, social, and spiritual dynamics of working together toward mission fulfillment. The purpose of this qualitative work was to explore and describe the professional relationships among teachers and administrators in private Catholic high schools in a large metropolitan diocese and to investigate how these relationships led to mission fulfillment. The study incorporated the theoretical frameworks of …

The Effects Of Collaborative Leadership Practices On Employee Satisfaction Levels, Thomas Martin

Theses and Dissertations

Successful organizations understand how employee satisfaction levels affect the bottom line. Establishing the best practices for managing employee satisfaction is paramount so human resource directors can share information. This literature review will help educate human resource practitioners and researchers to understand better the history, the existing research, and the benefits of properly managing employee satisfaction levels. When employees become dissatisfied, it can lead to a lack of trust, poor communication, and retention problems. Obtaining information on managing employee satisfaction levels can be difficult for aspiring human resource leaders. Through this phenomenological research study, human resource executives will share their knowledge …

Exploring Academic Leadership In Higher Education Through The Lens Of Leader-To-Member Exchange (Lmx) Theory, Dequies A. Lanier

Theses and Dissertations

A phenomenological study focused on Exploring Academic Leadership in Higher Education Through The Lens of Leader-to-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory, Dequies A. Lanier, 2020: Applied Dissertation, Nova Southeastern University, Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice. Keywords: communication, leadership development, higher education, leader-member exchange, organizational leadership This applied dissertation was designed to explore the communication between higher education leaders and faculty at the department level in the United States at a southeastern higher education institution. The study sought to explore (a) the communication relationship between leaders and followers; (b) commitment to the organization; and (c) suggested communication …

Battle Royale Video Games And Their Impact On First-Year Writing Students: Comparing The Writing Process Of Gamers To Non-Gamers, Jacob L. Molina

Theses and Dissertations

This study will examine the ways in which Battle Royale (BR) video games impact the writing process of first-year writing students at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley by comparing the students that play video games recreationally to the non-gaming group. The study will focus on how the recreational use of video games impacts writing by exploring the ways that gamers engage in these video games. By comparing BR gamers to non-gaming students, these differences will be highlighted through the evaluation of surveys and information gathered through research.

Some of the areas of the writing process that stand out …

Factors That Influence Parent Communication Decisions For Their Deaf Or Hard Of Hearing Child In Illinois, Karla A. Giese

Theses and Dissertations

The development of language in a deaf or hard of hearing child is dependent upon early and effective communication access (Marschark, 2018; Marschark & Hauser, 2012; Pittman, Sass-Lehrer, & Abrams, 2016; Scott & Dostal, 2019; Scott & Henner, 2020). For many parents of deaf and hard of hearing children, the most common early decisions that are made are related to communication and supporting language development, which is recognized by many in the field as a prime factor in early language acquisition (Decker, Vallotton, & Johnson, 2012; Sass-Lehrer, 2018). However, there are a lack of effective strategies for sharing information on …

The Effects Of Telehealth Training On Parents Of Children With Autism In Albania, Freskida Griffiths

Theses and Dissertations

The present study evaluated telehealth training with parents on techniques for working with their children with autism spectrum disorder in Southeastern Europe. The purpose of this study was to research the effects of telehealth training on the parents and the increase of mands on the children. The participants of this study included three mothers and three children, which totaled six participants. Parents were trained on how to increase functional communication in their child. Telehealth training was based on an effective training package called Behavior Skills Training (BST). BST consist of instructions, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback. The resources needed for the …

The Polite Abuser: Using Politeness Theory To Examine Emotional Abuse, Cimmiaron Alvarez

Theses and Dissertations

Over the last few decades more and more cultural attention has been paid to intimate partner violence, especially emotional abuse. Follingstad, Rutledge, Berg, Hause, and Polek (1990) established that emotional abuse fell into six distinct categories, however, little attention had been paid to how abusers can utilize polite communication to hurt their partner. Equally, Brown and Levinson’s politeness theory (1987) had never been applied to problematic communication (Austin, 1990). This study aimed to understand how polite communication can be used as a form of emotional abuse. In-depth, semi structured interviews were conducted with 20 participants who self-identified as having been …

Building Change Agility Within Teams, Tiffany N. Bersos

Theses and Dissertations

Change is necessary for an organization to be successful. However, poorly executed change, with ill-equipped leaders and unprepared teams, often result in failed efforts. Leaders can have a direct impact on their team's change agility and successful change initiatives. This study looked at team leaders and individual contributors across a variety of industries and explored ways that team leaders can build change agility. This study addressed three research questions: how participants defined the role of a leader, what individuals observed about themselves when at their best during a change, and what practices they believed would aid in building change agility …

Use Of Formative Research To Inform Family-Based Approaches To Prevent Prescription Opioid Misuse Among Mississippians, Mary Nelson Robertson

Theses and Dissertations

The United States is in the midst of an opioid epidemic, which is leading to approximately 130 deaths each day. While research on family-based approaches for substance misuse prevention, such as alcohol and tobacco prevention, has been conducted, few if any studies have focused on prescription opioid misuse prevention. Previous literature suggests that a comprehensive family-based approach can be effective in preventing substance misuse at the family-level. Considering the multiple age groups the sandwich generation cares for, the sandwich generation may have greater access to reaching multiple age groups to prevent prescription opioid misuse. Therefore, the purpose of this study …

Trajectory Optimization And Design For A Large Number Of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Jenna Elisabeth Newcomb

Theses and Dissertations

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarm allows for a more time-efficient method of searching a specified area than a single UAV or piloted plane. There are a variety of factors that affect how well an area is surveyed. We specifically analyzed the effect both vehicle properties and communication had on the swarm search performance. We used non-dimensionalization so the results can be applied to any domain size with any type of vehicle. We found that endurance was the most important factor. Vehicles with good endurance sensed approximately 90% to 100% of the grid, even when other properties were lacking. If …

To Meme, Or Not To Meme: Applying The Theory Of Motivated Information Management To The Provision Of Support After Depressed Individuals Share Suicidal Memes, Jacki Paige Willenborg

Theses and Dissertations

Social media sites are increasingly where individuals seek and share information on a range of topics. The focus of this thesis is on suicidal memes and how individuals interpret them. Suicidal memes are memes that suggest suicide through either text or visual images. No research has investigated interpretations of suicidal memes to date as well as why individuals post them. It is important to study such issues as the interpretations of these memes can mean the difference between depressed individuals, for example, receiving the help they need or those same individuals alienating themselves from their loved ones. Informed by the …

Walking The Tightrope: A Qualitative Study Of Women In Law Enforcement Navigating Their Work-Life Challenges, Yanira E. Resendez

Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to explore the work-life challenges that women face in male-dominated professions, specifically in the criminal justice system. The purpose of this study is to analyze the work-life challenges women face while working in the criminal justice system, a traditionally male-dominated field. Amidst the myriad of challenges, women bring a unique face to policing and other professions within law enforcement and legal professions; understanding women’s work experiences and how they articulate and implement strategies to manage the varying challenges is critical in evaluating women’s position within the law enforcement culture and the pulse of the legal profession. Employing …

"They Are Supposed To Be There For Me": Using Thematic Analysis To Understand Sexual Assault Disclosures In Hispanic Families, Alyssa M. Hernandez

Theses and Dissertations

The majority of research available on family communication and sexual assault disclosure is almost exclusively focused on Caucasian women (e.g., Basinger, Wehrman, & McAninch, 2016; Fehler-Cabral & Campbell, 2013; Orchowski, Untied, & Gidycz, 2013; Taylor & Norma, 2012). This is problematic because, of all cultural groups on which studies have been conducted about sexual assault reporting, Hispanics are the least likely to disclose sexual assault, although they are at high risk to experience sexual assault (Castaneda, 2018). In this study, I aimed to understand how and why survivors of sexual assault chose to disclose their experiences to their Hispanic families. …