Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Association Between The Rate Of Child Fatalities In Tennessee And Selected Neighborhood Demographic And Housing Characteristics, Elizabeth Brown

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if an association exists between housing characteristics and demographic characteristics of Tennessee neighborhoods (census tracts) and the rate of child fatalities (violent, accidental, and natural) in the neighborhoods reporting child fatalities for the years 1996-2003. The child fatalities, for the eight years, reported to each Tennessee Judicial District Child Fatality Review Team required by the Tennessee Department of Health’s Maternal and Child Health Division were selected for use in the study. Data was selected from the Bureau of the Census’ 2000 United States Census to obtain the housing characteristics and demographic characteristics …

Comparison Of Fecal Escherichia Coli From Dogs And Their Owners, Katherine Anne Stenske

Doctoral Dissertations

Contact between human beings and dogs may allow sharing of antimicrobial resistant and virulent bacteria. Objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of cross-species sharing of fecal E. coli based on pulse field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) profile similarity, to compare antimicrobial susceptibility patterns and virulence factor patterns between dog-owner pairs, and to analyze the epidemiology of cross-species sharing using a questionnaire.

A cross-sectional study comparing fecal E. coli isolates from dogs and their owners was conducted. A questionnaire and fecal sample was collected from 61 dogowner pairs and 30 controls. Three E. coli colonies were isolated from each …

Terrorism Incident Response Education For Public-Safety Personnel In North Carolina And Tennessee: An Evaluation By Emergency Managers, John Eric Powell

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the appropriateness and sufficiency of an existing course jointly created by the United States Department of Justice, the National Fire Academy, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency entitled Emergency Response to Terrorism: Basic Concepts. The survey groups chosen for this evaluation included the 194 emergency managers for the two states of North Carolina and Tennessee.

The return rate for the descriptive survey study was 53.6 percent (n=104). This return rate was accomplished via two mailings and telephone interviews.

Overall, the respondents felt that the five main course topics (Understanding and Recognizing …

Development Of A Standardized Nursing Curriculum For The Alabama Community College System: A Critical Case Study, Alice G. Raymond

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this case study was to describe how the Alabama Community College System (ACCS) standardized their nursing curriculum. A single research question was the focus of the study: “How did the ACCS develop its standardized nursing curriculum?” The sub questions were, “who were the key players in the process?”, “Who had the positions of power and dominance, and who did not?”, “Who were included and who were excluded in the process?”, “What were the reasons for inclusion and exclusion?”, and “What were the contextual elements that influenced the development of the curriculum?”

Data from multiple sources were gathered. …

Acoustic Cue Weighting In Children Wearing Cochlear Implants, Junghwa Bahng

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine how normal hearing adults (NHA), normal hearing children (NHC) and children wearing cochlear implants (CI) differ in the perceptual weight given cues for fricative consonant and voiceless stop consonant continua. Ten normal-hearing adults (NHA), eleven 5-8-year-old normalhearing children (NHC) and eight 5-8-year-old children wearing cochlear implants (CI) were participants. For fricative consonant perception, the /su/-/∫u/ continua were constructed by varying a fricative spectrum cue in three steps and by varying a F2 onset transition cue in three steps. For voiceless stop consonant perception, the /pu/- /tu/ continua were constructed by varying a …

The Identification And Description Of The Reasons Provided By Soldiers For Reenlisting In The U. S. Army Medical Department, Thomas Ray Coe

Doctoral Dissertations

The retention of healthcare personnel, especially in the profession of nursing, continues to remain a critical issue. The ability to adequately and safely staff healthcare facilities to provide inpatient and outpatient care and emergency services is dependent on maintaining a well trained and experienced professional and paraprofessional workforce. This issue is of particular importance to the enlisted members of United States Army Medical Department (AMEDD) and the United States Army Nurse Corps. This qualitative descriptive research study identified many topics influencing the retention of enlisted personnel in the AMEDD.

The work environment, economic factors, personal and professional issues were identified …

Induction And Regulation Of Herpetic Stromal Keratitis, Pranita Pragnyadipta Sarangi

Doctoral Dissertations

Herpetic stromal keratitis (HSK) is an immunopathological and tissue destructive corneal lesion caused by herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection, which induces an intense inflammatory response and finally leads to blindness. Accumulating evidence using the murine model has shown that Th-1 phenotype CD4⁺ T cells orchestrating the inflammation mainly contribute to the immunopathological reaction in HSV-1 infected cornea. However, prior to CD4⁺ T cell infiltration into corneal lesions, various innate immune cells recruit and produce numerous inflammatory and angiogenic molecules into the corneal stroma those in turn drive the corneal immunopathology.

The first part (Part I) of this dissertation …

Recovery Of Midlife Women From Myocardial Infarction, Sherri Linn Stevens

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences of midlife women who have experienced a myocardial infarction and returned home to recover. A phenomenological research method based on the philosophy of Merleau-Ponty was used for the study. The researcher interviewed 8 women ranging in age from 45 to 65. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using the approach of Pollio and Thomas. Most of the transcribed interviews were read and discussed in the Phenomenology Research group. A thematic structure was identified from the shared themes of the women participants. For the women in this study the experience of …

A Comparison Of Big Five And Narrow Personality Traits In Relation To Academic Performance, Laura Lee Wright

Doctoral Dissertations

The present study investigated the relationship between the Big Five personality traits (Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, Extraversion, and Openness), as well as the relationship of more narrow personality traits, with academic performance. The issue of whether personality measures that have been contextualized to either school or work better predict academic performance than generalized measures is also addressed through the use of multiple personality instruments. Results from a correlation analysis indicated that Openness, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and Emotional Stability were all significantly positively related to academic performance, in this case, college course grade, while Extraversion was significantly negatively related. The same correlation …

Public Health Nutrition: A Workforce In Transition, Alexa M. George

Doctoral Dissertations

Objective Because the public health nutrition workforce may be in a state of transition, this study had three purposes: 1) describe the US public health nutrition workforce; 2) examine a new position class, breastfeeding peer counselor; and 3) determine if retirement intention of public health nutrition personnel can be predicted based on personal and workplace factors.

Methods Secondary data analysis of the national research dataset of the 2006-07 Public Health Nutrition Workforce Survey was conducted (n=10,683, response rate 80.0% for overall survey; research dataset n=9,923). Subjects were personnel in nutrition professional/paraprofessional positions working in nutrition programs under the purview of …

The Experience Of Faith-Based Disaster Response: A Qualitative And Quantitative Analysis, Deborah Jean Persell

Doctoral Dissertations

After hurricanes Katrina and Rita, faith-based organizations were among the most trusted and efficient organizations responding in New Orleans. The primary purposes of this study are twofold: 1) to understand the experience of faith-based disaster response for those charged with organizing and executing such a massive, grassroots effort, those delivering direct service, and the survivors who seek and receive assistance; 2) to understand the impact of the disaster event and levels of hope in the lives of those who provide and receive assistance. These research purposes were achieved by using a mixed methods research design that included ethnographic participant-observer field …

Review Of Medical Imaging Devices For The Integration Of Medical Technology And Earmold Production And Grant Proposal Development, Michelle L. Saltarrelli

Doctoral Dissertations

The first purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of a medical device to replace the current method of earmold production. The medical device would be used to scan the external ear (i.e., external auditory canal and pinna), scan the dimensions to an imaging software system, and finally send the three-dimensional image electronically to a milling machine for the production of earmolds and hearing aid shells. Currently, audiologists use an eight step process described by Dillon (2001) which due to the invasive nature of the procedure presents potential complications to both the clinician and client, The potential complications …

Efficacy Of Central Auditory Processing Case History Form Used At The Louisiana Tech University Speech And Hearing Center, Michelle L. Smith

Doctoral Dissertations

Central auditory processing disorder (CAPD) is a deficiency in processing of auditory information. Due to this deficiency, a variety of behaviors can be seen including listening difficulties in background noise, difficulties following oral instruction, and difficulties discriminating and identifying speech sounds. These behaviors result in inattention and academic difficulties. With these characteristics being present in other disorders such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, language/learning deficits, and high functioning autism (i.e., Asperger's syndrome) diagnosis of CAPD becomes complicated.

The Louisiana Tech University Speech and Hearing Center uses a CAPD case history for a child that was adopted from Robert Keith in 2003. …

Effects Of Dichotic Auditory Training On Children With Central Auditory Processing Disorder, Kiley Edwards Stephenson

Doctoral Dissertations

(Central) auditory processing disorder (CAPD) is a condition in which individuals with normal hearing present with difficulties often associated with hearing loss. While there are currently many tests available for the CAPD assessment, there are very few therapies for the remediation of a CAPD. A new therapy program, called Dichotic Auditory Training (DAT), aimed at improving the performance of those individuals with CAPD, was the focus of this study. Eight children between the ages of seven and twelve went through the four week training. The Staggered Spondaic Word (SSW) test, the SCAN-C/A, and a test designed after the DAT …