Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Improving Blood Pressure Control In Esrd Through A Supportive Educative Nursing Intervention, Zorica Kauric-Klein

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

IMPROVING BLOOD PRESSURE CONTROL IN ESRD THROUGH A

SUPPORTIVE EDUCATIVE NURSING INTERVENTION

by

ZORICA KAURIC-KLEIN

May 2011

Advisor: Dr. Nancy T. Artinian

Major: Nursing

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Problem: Hypertension in chronic hemodialysis (HD) patients contributes significantly to their morbidity and mortality. Statistics indicate the hypertension rate amongst HD patients ranges from 75 to 100 %. Studies have indicated that adherence rates to self-care behaviors related to salt and fluid intake and medication regimens are very poor in the HD population. Traditional hypertension management strategies have been found to be largely ineffective. There is modest evidence indicating that interventions …

The Creative Content Programme And Audiovisual E-Platform: An Institutional Analysis Of Unesco's Influence On The Development Of Independent Documentary Content And Production Practice, Deborah Joanne James

Wayne State University Dissertations

This dissertation is an institutional analysis of two interrelated UNESCO (United Nations Education Science and Cultural Organization) activities. These include the Creative Content Programme, and the Audiovisual E-Platform, an online catalogue and social networking hub for independent filmmakers/media producers from the global South. Contained by these activities, the author focuses the multi-method approach on gender and access by (A) conducting an analysis of the composition of programs and practices of the Creative Content Programme and the E-Platform; (B) conducting textual analysis of documentary media and interviews with Diaspora women producers; and (C) participating in and observing community-based multimedia production …

Chemotherapy For Lung Cancer: Determinants Of Guideline Adherence And Associated Patient Outcomes, Ramzi George Salloum

Wayne State University Dissertations

Evidence-based guidelines recommend chemotherapy for medically fit patients with stage II-IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Adherence to chemotherapy guidelines has rarely been studied among large populations, mainly because performance status (PS), a key component in assessing chemotherapy appropriateness, is missing from claims-based datasets. Among a large cohort of patients with known PS, this dissertation describes chemotherapy use relative to guideline recommendations and identifies patient factors and outcomes associated with guideline concordant use. Among these patients 29% do not receive guideline recommended chemotherapy treatment, missing opportunities for cure or receiving chemotherapy with more risk of harm than benefit, thereby likely …

International Student Navigation Through U.S.-American Colleges And Universities: An Autoethnographic Analysis Of Discourse, Nick James Romerhausen

Wayne State University Dissertations

As the population of international students continues to rise at U.S. colleges and universities, the difficulties that international students may face becomes more present and apparent. Intervention strategies used to assist international students in the past have shown remarkable success; however, these strategies have primarily included face-to-face interactions. I explore the role that mediated discourse plays in supporting international students with navigating paths through U.S. colleges and universities by examining ten institutions' assistance handbooks. From inspiration from autoethnography, discourse analysis, and critical education perspectives, I also use an autoethnographic analysis of discourse to understand the types of experiences colleges and …

Social Movement Theory And Far Right Organizations, Frank Tridico

Wayne State University Dissertations

This research examines the organized far right movement and interviews members of four right wing organizations to understand their goals and operations. This study compares the utility of two social movement theories, Resource Mobilization Theory (RMT) and New Social Movement Theory (NSMT) to explain the functioning of the four organizations. Resource Mobilization Theory contends that change is done politically in the sphere of institutional power, while New Social Movement Theory argues that change occurs in civil society.

The study was qualitative in nature and involved in-depth interviews with 97 members of four far right organizations across two Midwest states. The …

Barriers And Opportunities For Evidence-Based Practice: Curriculum Changes In Fieldwork And Classroom In Social Work Education, Anwar Najor-Durack

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to consider perceptions held by social work faculty and agency-based field instructors to incorporate EBP into social work student classroom and field placement experiences. This study identifies perceptions of social work faculty and field instructors about EBP, determines the extent to which social work faculty and field instructors incorporate and use EBP; and considers how organizational leadership and/or technology supports influence adoption and utilization of EBP. The population for this study included all full-time social work faculty members employed by three large public universities in southeast Michigan (Michigan State University [MSU], University of Michigan …

A Meta-Analytic Framework For Understanding How Leader-Subordinate Age Differences Impact Leadership Effectiveness Ratings: A Novel Approach To Relational Demography, Cort Whiting Rudolph

Wayne State University Dissertations

Recently, there has been renewed interest in studying relational demography, which focuses on how demographic differences between individuals and members of their work unit impact individual level outcomes (Joshi, Liao & Roh, 2011). In terms of age, relational demography research has focused on the individual-within-group level of analysis, such as studying how age differences between individuals and their peers affect work attitudes (Riordan & Shore, 1997). However, the influence of age differences between leaders and their subordinates has not been sufficiently addressed by this literature (Tsui, Egan & Xin, 1995).

This study investigates how leader-subordinate age differences affect subordinates' ratings …

Mine? Yours? Ours? Reconceptualizing And Contextualizing The Leader-Member Relationship, Leah Marie Omilion-Hodges

Wayne State University Dissertations

This study examines resource distribution within the intact workgroup, investigating the processes which prompt distribution from leader to member as well as the lateral lending of resources among coworkers. Espousing leader-member (LMX) and coworker relationships (CWX) within the larger organizational social structure, this research extends the field by embedding the work within the intact workgroup making specific predictions regarding coworker exchange relationships as a byproduct of perceptions of justice and individual standing (high or low status) with the leader. Propositions are forwarded which argue for the need to view LMX and CWX in terms of communal and exchange relationship types, …

Emotional Risk Factors For Substance Abuse In A Chronic Pain Population: Developing A Predictive Model And Testing Methods For Assessing Stigmatized Behaviors, Lindsay Margaret-Sander Oberleitner

Wayne State University Dissertations

There are currently few factors guiding physicians' decisions as to whether an individual patient may need additional regulation of pain medications because of risks. The limited predictive factors applied to prescription opioid abuse in chronic pain patients is surprising given the breadth of personal, cognitive, and emotional factors explored in both chronic pain and substance abuse literatures broadly. The present study had two purposes. First, concurrent risk factors for prescription misuse and substance abuse in chronic pain patients were explored, specifically examining whether the addition of emotional factors to the traditionally used risk factors improves prediction of prescription and substance …

A Bioecological Approach To Empathy, Altruism, And Intent To Help: Developmental, Dispositional And Contextual Factors Influence Prosocial Motivations And Intentions, Michelle Provenzano Beechler

Wayne State University Dissertations

Whether one helps due to altruistic empathy or egoistic motivators has been debated in the social psychological literature most recently with the Felt-Oneness (Cialdini et al., 1997) and the Empathy-Altruism (Batson 1991) hypotheses. For strangers, it appears that helping intentions are predicted by felt-oneness, except in circumstances in which a bystander feels nurturance toward a target, in which case empathy is found to predict helping. For close relationships, however, empathy predicts helping, particularly in high need situations. Antipathy has been presented as a possible confound as well (Batson et al., 1997), but has not been tested. The present study took …

Awareness Of Deficits And On-Road Driving Performance Among Persons With Acquired Brain Injury, Julie Ann Griffen

Wayne State University Dissertations

This study examined the relationship of neuropsychological and on-road driving evaluations among adults with acquired brain injury (ABI), and the extent to which that relationship is moderated by awareness of deficit. Awareness of deficit may partly explain mixed findings regarding the relationship between cognitive function and driving outcomes, inasmuch as persons aware of their deficits attempt to compensate for them accordingly, thereby minimizing deficit-related risk.

Sixty-two pairs of adults with ABI and significant-other informants recruited from a driving evaluation center and 40 healthy controls participated. Adults with ABI and controls completed neuropsychological and on-road evaluations.

Awareness of deficit was directly …

Recognition Of The Transgender Self: An Examination Of The Apologia Of The 'Pregnant Man', Erika Marie Thomas

Wayne State University Dissertations

In 2008, Thomas Beatie, a legally recognized male, transgender man, became pregnant with his first child and approached the American mass media to tell his story and defend his decisions. Shortly thereafter, the public fought against his image, attempting to normalize his body and gender. Beatie's unique gender blurring, his choice for exposure and social recognition, and the resulting public controversy surrounding the incident makes for an important test case to understand Beatie's discursive and visual strategies directed toward the American public.

This study, a rhetorical examination of the discourse and iconic visual image used by Beatie while his pregnant …

Riot Or Rebellion: Media Framing And The 1967 Detroit Uprising, Casandra E. Ulbrich

Wayne State University Dissertations

Frames make sense of complex issues and events, including identifying who is to blame and who or what is responsible for overcoming the problem. This research builds on the growing list of framing research, but takes the focus in a new direction, focusing on the longevity of frames and how they may transition over time. This dissertation offers an in-depth case study of framing effects by analyzing media coverage from the 30 days following the 1967 Detroit uprising and comparing that coverage with the 40th anniversary coverage of the same event. By analyzing the uprising through a 40-year lens, this …

Individual Differences In Hemispheric Lateralization Of Language Processing, Sarah Ann Van Dyke

Wayne State University Dissertations

Conclusions in the literature regarding the relationship between a lateralized bias in the processing of information and individual differences (e.g., biological sex, gender identity, ability, personality) are inconsistent. We compared two different measures of laterality: dichotic listening and lateralized semantic priming and their relation to sex, verbal and visual-spatial ability, gender identity, and personality.

Eighty-nine adults (44 women, 45 men) were administered the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, Bem Sex Role Inventory, and Big Five Inventory in addition to a dichotic listening task and a lateralized semantic priming task that compared ipsilateral and contralateral priming in order to determine the …

Examining The Relationship Among Physical And Psychological Health, Parent And Peer Attachment, And Cyberbullying In Adolescents In Urban And Suburban Environments, Jemica Monique Carter

Wayne State University Dissertations

Cyberbullying is a new phenomenon that has received substantial attention via media. An extensive review of the literature revealed limited nursing research on this topic. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of cyberbullying on adolescents' physical (e.g., headache, stomachache, etc.) and psychosocial (e.g., self-esteem, depression, post traumatic stress syndrome, etc.) outcomes. Individuals who experience repeated traditional bullying are at increased risk for experiencing repeated incidents of cyberbullying. Research has shown that effects of cyberbullying may be more traumatic than traditional bullying because victims can be bullied 24 hours and 7 days a week, on and off …

Slavery And Abortion: The Paradox Of American Liberalism, Mark A. Ladd

Wayne State University Dissertations

Louis Hartz proposed that America possesses a liberal tradition that works toward a Lockean equality for all people. I argue that Hartzs' theory is still applicable to America even though illiberal institutions have and do exist. My contention is that it is the paradox of liberalism that allows for this. Slavery is the quintessential illiberal institution, yet liberal concepts allowed it to exist in America for over 200 years. It is my contention that abortion is another illiberal institution that is being promoted by the paradox of liberalism. With the use of John Rawls theory of distributive justice abortion can …

Essays On The Impact Of Oil Price Shocks On The Macroeconomy, Latika Gupta Lagalo

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

ESSAYS O THE IMPACT OF OIL PRICE SHOCKS O THE

Advisor: Dr. Ana María Herrera

Major: Economics

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

MACROECOOMY

by

LATIKA GUPTA LAGALO

December 2011

This dissertation analyzes the relationship between oil price and industrial production.

use recently developed methods and techniques to investigate the functional form and

structural stability of the relationship between oil prices and industrial production. In my

first chapter, I use both slope-based tests and impulse response based tests to provide

evidence of nonlinearity in the response of U.S. industrial production to oil price shocks

My second essay further empirically assesses the …

Consumer Search And Switching Behavior: Evidence From The Credit Card Industry, Omar Adel Abdelrahman

Wayne State University Dissertations

The introduction of the credit card in the mid-twentieth century revolutionized and transformed how people live. Based on a set of new survey data, this dissertation empirically investigates and analyzes consumers' behavior in the credit card market. Specifically, it investigates the underlying determinants of consumers' choices regarding switching credit-card balances. To estimate the likelihood that consumers switch credit cards, two logit models are estimated. Using data from the Consumer Finance Monthly (CFM) of The Ohio State University, the author finds that at the conventional 5 percent level of significance, the following variables have significance: old interest rate, new interest rate, …

The Effects Of Meta-Communication Training On Therapeutic Process And Outcome At A University Counseling Center, Tamara Lynn Mckay

Wayne State University Dissertations

There is a considerable body of research related to both the therapeutic alliance and orienting clients to the psychotherapy process. This study is the first to examine the impact of a meta-communication orientation exercise regarding the therapeutic alliance on process variables and treatment outcomes. Participants (N=44) were randomly assigned to either a control or meta-communication condition where they engaged in an orientation exercise that combined elements of role induction and experiential pretraining regarding Bordin's (1979) model of the therapeutic alliance. Independent samples t-tests were used to determine if engaging in the orientation exercise would improve mood, ratings of the therapeutic …

Long-Term Psychological Outcomes And Awareness Of Deficit In Persons With Traumatic Brain Injury And Their Significant Others: The Role Of Physiological And Neuroendocrine Reactivity To Stress, Sarah J. Meachen

Wayne State University Dissertations

This study investigated the relationships between physiological/neuroendocrine reactivity to stress and long-term psychological outcomes among persons with TBI and their significant others. In addition, this study examined the potential moderating role of patient AOD in characterizing these relationships. The findings indicate that physiological stress reactivity predicts poor psychosocial functioning in survivors of TBI and their significant others. Chronic stress (reflected in high baseline values) and stress reactivity were generally adversely associated with psychological distress and life satisfaction. Among significant others of TBI survivors, this pattern was also observed for sense of caregiving mastery and burden. However, there were also some …

International Transmission Of U.S. Real, Nominal, And Financial Shocks, Bamadev Paudel

Wayne State University Dissertations

This dissertation identifies real, nominal, and financial shocks in the U.S. and observes their effects on U.S. as well as G�macroeconomic variables. First, the real and nominal shocks in the U.S. are identified by using long-run implications of an open economy stochastic macroeconomic model, and the effects of these shocks are observed in real GDP, real effective exchange rates, and the prices for the U.S. relative to each of six other G�7 countries. While Blanchard and Quah's long-run identification strategy is used to identify the shocks, short-run implication of the model are also exploited, as a prima facie evidence, by …

Social Support And Health Outcomes In Adolescents Experiencing Homelessness And Poverty: A Test Of The Main Effect And Stress-Buffering Hypotheses, Danijela Zlatevski

Wayne State University Dissertations

The health benefit and stress-buffering effects of social support were examined. Homeless (N=250) and housed (N=148) adolescents were assessed in adolescence and again in early adulthood, providing longitudinal data to help understand how these social constructs may change and influence health. The study was designed to test Cohen and Wills (1985) main effect and stress-buffering hypotheses. Current findings provide some support for the main effect hypothesis and some more limited support for the stress-buffering effect of perceived social support on mental health. Specifically, a main effect was found at baseline for network social support on number of substance abuse symptoms. …

Inter/Intrapersonal Variables And Readiness For Change On Achieving Recovery, Deborah Conrad-Garrisi

Wayne State University Dissertations

Individuals with serious mental illness experience numerous barriers that prevent achieving a meaningful life, as well as increase the risk of social isolation and ostracism. However, recovery from serious mental illness is an emerging reality for many who experience psychiatric illness. Psychiatric rehabilitation programs that promote recovery, community integration, and acceptance aim to combat the potentially detrimental consequences of mental illness. The purpose of this study was to examine how inter/intrapersonal variables, such as sense of mattering, sense of community, and perceived stigma influence recovery from mental illness among consumers who participate in psychiatric rehabilitation programs, known as clubhouses. In …

Racial/Cultural Identity Development In Foster Children Placed In Transracial Foster Homes, Vanessa Brooks Herd

Wayne State University Dissertations

This qualitative study was designed to identify how racial and cultural identity is developed and maintained in foster children who are placed in foster homes racially and culturally different than they are. The research questions included how the foster care system addresses racial identity issues and how foster parents assign meaning to the transracial foster care experience. Another area of interest was the preparation by the foster care system for foster parents to manage issues of racial identity. The pre-training curriculum for foster parents was subjected to a content analysis.

The Effects Of Racially-Motivated Emotional Arousal On The Eating Behaviors Of African American Women, Lenwood W. Hayman

Wayne State University Dissertations

Disparities between African Americans and Caucasians remain vast across a wide variety of health indicators. Chronic stress has been identified as a risk factor for a variety of chronic illnesses and poor health outcomes. One type of chronic stress that has been linked to health disparities is the stress associated with experiences of racial discrimination. The stress African Americans encounter as a result of their racist experiences contributes to a chronic elevation of their physiological stress response. In addition to stress, a major risk factor for coronary heart disease and diabetes is obesity, which has been established as a major …

An Examination Of The Primary And Secondary Effects Of Cyber-Bullying: Development And Testing Of A Cyber-Bullying Moderator/Mediator Model, Crystal Lin Johnson

Wayne State University Dissertations

This study examined cyber-bullying as a social transgression and the potentially negative effects it has on individuals, specifically adolescents and young adults from experiences recalled by college students. Findings established support for a moderator/mediator model, designed and tested for this study, that describes the psychological process prompted by a cyber-bullying message, which is moderated as well as mediated by several factors. This study examined the theoretical and practical value of the model in terms of being able to reflect the psychological process that individuals move through when exposed to a cyber-bullying message, and its ability to account for both primary …

Evaluating The Use Of Steady Burn Warning Lights On Drums For Workzone Safety, Prasad Nannapaneni

Wayne State University Dissertations

Abstract

EVALUATING THE USE OF

STEADY BURN WARNING LIGHTS ON DRUMS

FOR WORK ZONE SAFETY

by

PRASAD LAKSHMI VARA NANNAPANENI

May 2011

Advisor: Dr. Timothy Gates

Major: Civil Engineering

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Roadway maintenance and repair has become increasingly commonplace in the United States over the past several decades as our roadway infrastructure has continued to age and deteriorate. Maintenance and repair work on an existing roadway often presents the challenge of maintaining traffic on the existing roadway while work is being performed, thereby necessitating the use of what is commonly referred to as a roadway "work zone". One …

The Nature And Origins Of Dually Diverse Neighborhoods, Jackie Michelle Cutsinger

Wayne State University Dissertations

This study investigates the extent to which neighborhoods that are both racially and economically diverse, hereafter referred to as dually diverse neighborhoods, exist within the metropolitan landscape of the United States and what factors contribute to the emergence of such neighborhoods. Using the Neighborhood Change Database, this study defines what a diverse neighborhood is and gives a descriptive portrait of the characteristics of these neighborhoods. The entropy index (H) is used as the measure of neighborhood diversity because of its ability to take into account the presence of more than two groups, unlike other more commonly used measures of segregation …

Approval Of George W. Bush: Economic And Media Impacts, Gino Tozzi Jr.

Wayne State University Dissertations

George W. Bush's approval rate had its shares of ups and downs. In this time series study I analyze the empirical evidence of the media's and economy's impact on his approval rate from 2001-2009. People tend to hold the president responsible for the country's economic performance and the media influences people's opinions of the president through agenda setting and priming. I operationalize the media influence on people into an independent variable. My economic independent variables are the monthly percent change in inflation rate, unemployment rate, and personal income. The dependent variable is the president's approval rate. This study seeks to …

Hospital Quality And Medicare Payment: A Theoretical And Empirical Investigation, Jinghua Huang

Wayne State University Dissertations

Does Medicare's payment rate for a hospital stay influence the quality of care received by a patient? We examine this question, theoretically and empirically. First, a model is developed which generates the key hypothesis -- that Medicare's payment rate per admission should be positively related to care quality. We then test this hypothesis by estimating the relationship between Medicare's DRG payment for pneumonia, heart failure and heart attacks and care quality, using clinically-recognized measures of the quality of pneumonia care, heart failure care and heart attack care. Newly available data on acute hospitals in 2007 from "Hospital Compare" (maintained by …