Digital Commons Network^™

Depression And Anxiety: Investigating The Impacts Of Scheduling On The Mental Health Of Healthcare Workers During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Christofer Gonzaga

All Theses

Depression is a growing problem in the United States and has ballooned into a globally recognized mental health issue that affects shift workers in various fields (Lee et al., 2017). Rates of depression and anxiety have been shown to be substantially increasing and the COVID-19 pandemic amplified this prevalence of depression and anxiety. In the United States, the prevalence of depression symptoms was more than 3- fold higher during COVID-19 compared to before the pandemic (Ettman et al., 2020). The delivery of healthcare services is an ongoing and dynamic process, requiring clinicians to work in various shifts to ensure the …

Network Effects Of Emergency Department Clinician Strain And Patient Congestion, Aisha Nelson

All Theses

We develop a discrete-event simulation model to study how staffing strain affects patient outcomes across a network of Emergency Departments (EDs). The aim is to observe how clinician staffing and transfers throughout the system affect the system’s behavior. We will study the network of the seven EDs in the Prisma Health-Upstate system. Patient acuity and resource need are stratified using the five-level Emergency Severity Index (ESI). Patient flow data within and between EDs are collected from EPIC, staffing data from ShiftAdmin, and environmental COVID-19 prevalence data from the Department of Health and Environmental Control. Time periods include the Omicron wave …

Optimizing Sample Collection And Data Interpretation For Effective Wastewater-Based Epidemiology In Combined Sewer Systems, Christopher Allen Anderson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

COVID-19 has spurred growth in the science surrounding wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) pertaining to the detection of severe acute respiratory virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in waste streams as an early warning signal for public health. However, the highly variable wastewater environment has made it difficult to standardize an approach for sampling and analysis, especially in locations using combined sewer infrastructure. This study addresses knowledge gaps of WBE via three specific aims: (1) to compare diurnal fluctuations of SARS-CoV-2 and the human fecal indicator, pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) influent samples collected during dry versus wet weather conditions; …

Modeling The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Speeding At Rural Roadway Facilities In Maine Using Short-Term Speed And Traffic Count Data., Amirhossein Shahlaeegilan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant change in traffic operations and safety. For instance, various U.S. states reported an increase in the rate of fatal and severe injury crashes over this duration. In April and May 2020, the comprehensive stay-at-home orders were issued across the country, including in Maine. These orders resulted in drastic reductions in traffic volume,switching working policies of noticeable number of corporations and educational administrations like universities to the remote working, closure of many organizations during the lockdown period, and people avoidance to public places to suppress the possible exposure to the virus were among the most …

Influence Evaluation On Near-Road Concentrations Of Pm2.5 During Covid-19 Pandemic, Marcos Alan Banda Morales

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

SARS-CoV-2, also known as COVID-19, was discovered in Wuhan, China in late 2019and spread rapidly worldwide in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic and its quarantine periods influenced the number of people using their vehicles and the number of miles traveled, which correspondingly influenced the air quality of urban areas. The influence of the restrictions caused by the quarantine period on air quality differs from location to location. Previous research accounted for countries, but no research was done at the state level individually. This research attempts to evaluate the transportation-related air quality during the COVID-19 pandemic period using data from the Texas …

The Design Of A Point Of Care Fet Biosensor To Detect And Screen Covid-19, Nisreen Amer Mohammad Alnaji

Theses

This work proposes and demonstrates a biosensor with reduced Graphene Oxide (rGO) based Field Effect Transistor (FET) for rapid and selective detection of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The main objective of this thesis is to detect the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein antigen on spot selectively and rapidly. The rGO channel is coated with the spike protein antibodies to achieve selectivity. Moreover, the biosensing performance and specificity are governed by decorating the sensor’s channel with Metal Nanoparticles (MNPs) such as, copper, and silver. The designed sensor successfully detects the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and shows singular electrical behavior for detection. …

Assessing Structural And Functional Brain Alterations And Work-Related Fatigue In Non-Hyposmic And Hyposmic Covid-19 Survivors, Rakibul Hafiz

Dissertations

In the year 2019, life began to change at the advent of a global pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus. Mask mandates and mass vaccinations have mitigated the effects significantly, yet cases keep rising with new variants, especially, in densely populated countries, like India. Recent neuroimaging evidence shows the virus can attack the central nervous system (CNS). However, exactly which brain regions undergo structural and functional changes remain largely unknown. Many patients experience 'loss of/reduced sense of smell' (i.e., hyposmic) and an alarming number of survivors develop persistent symptoms ('long-COVID') for several months after initial infection. Fatigue is the most …

Coronavirus Disability Survey: Assessing The Impact Of Covid-19 On Young Adults With Disabilities, Hena Rashid

Student Research Submissions

This paper seeks to inform individuals of the importance of digital inclusivity, diminish the digital divide, and accessibility to technological services of college students who experience a form of disability. The United States has conducted minimal research on the digital disability rhetoric, promoted minimal disability-inclusive measures to protect the rights and well-being of college students, and minimal assistance to mitigate Coronavirus (COVID-19) impacts to this population subgroup. This subject can have a big impact on individuals who suffer from disability stigma, low accessibility issues, and who have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. Furthermore, this subject will benefit college students …

The Impact Of Virtual Learning Modalities On The Academic Success Of Students In One Arkansas School District, Diane F. Richards

ATU Theses and Dissertations 2021 - Present

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way Arkansas public schools’ offered students an education. While moving through this pandemic, many Arkansas schools implemented optional methods of delivery for their students. Some schools tried to maintain face-to-face classes, while others offered completely online classes. Still, others offered a hybrid format where students attended some face-to-face classes and online classes. One Arkansas school district offered all three options. School districts need guidance as to which teaching methods worked well. The long-term effects of the educational impact of COVID-19 are not known at this time. Schools could benefit from a guide with useful strategies …

Design And Development Of The Urban Population Health Observatory To Improve Disease Surveillance And Response, Whitney Brakefield

Doctoral Dissertations

Chronic and infectious diseases have a profound impact on the quality and length of life of populations that suffer from these conditions. Scientists, physicians, and health officials are seeking innovative approaches to decrease the morbidity and mortality of deadly diseases. Incorporating artificial intelligence and data science techniques across the health science domain could improve disease surveillance, intervention planning, and policymaking. In this dissertation, we describe the design and development of the Urban Population Health Observatory (UPHO), an explainable knowledge-based multimodal big data analytics platform. A common challenge for conducting multimodal big data analytics is integrating multidimensional heterogeneous data sources, which …

Investigating Tourists' Decision Making And Intentions For Outdoor Recreation Participation During Early Covid-19, Prasanna Humagain

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This dissertation aims at discerning tourists’ behaviors and decision making processes for outdoor recreation participation, during the early COVID-19 pandemic. An outdoor recreation trip is defined in this study as “a journey involving at least one overnight stay away from home, and where the purpose is to engage in recreational activities in an outdoor or natural environment.” This dissertation first explores the factors that inhibit tourists’ desires for participating in outdoor recreation trips, the strategies they apply to avoid COVID-19 transmission, and the motivational factors that induce their desires for outdoor recreation participation in the COVID-19 context. The impact of …

Assessing The Influence Of Health Policy And Population Mobility On Covid-19 Spread In Arkansas, Tayden Barretto

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The outbreak of COVID-19 has created a major crisis across the world since its start in 2019, and its influence on every realm of society is undeniable. Globally, more than 500 million cases have been recorded since March 2020, with almost 6 million deaths. In the wake of this crisis, many governments and health organizations have taken steps and precautions to mitigate its spread. These steps involve public mandates of information, reducing frequency of personal contact, and use of masks to minimize the risk of transmission. Current access to mobility data released from Google detailing population movements has provided a …

Factors Affecting Hotel Recommendation: Before The Covid-19 Pandemic And After The Reopening, Boran Kim

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

During the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous people lost their lives, and a lot of industries were affected. The hospitality industry was especially affected due to social distancing, travel restrictions, and safety issues. During that time, not only did customers' expectations change but their recommendation of hotels to friends and colleagues also changed. The current study used five factors (i.e., cleanliness, location, room, service, and value) to discover which factors were affecting hotel recommendation before the COVID-19 pandemic and after the reopening. This study used secondary data (online surveys) from one of the well-known integrated resorts located in the western United States. …

Decision-Analytic Models Using Reinforcement Learning To Inform Dynamic Sequential Decisions In Public Policy, Seyedeh Nazanin Khatami

Doctoral Dissertations

We developed decision-analytic models specifically suited for long-term sequential decision-making in the context of large-scale dynamic stochastic systems, focusing on public policy investment decisions. We found that while machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms provide the most suitable frameworks for such analyses, multiple challenges arise in its successful adaptation. We address three specific challenges in two public sectors, public health and climate policy, through the following three essays. In Essay I, we developed a reinforcement learning (RL) model to identify optimal sequence of testing and retention-in-care interventions to inform the national strategic plan “Ending the HIV Epidemic in the US”. …

Understanding Logistics Airmen’S Risk Information Seeking And Processing During The Covid-19 Pandemic: The Role Of Organizational Meetings In An Extended Prism Framework, Christopher T. Price

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this survey-based research was to understand how organizational workplace meetings surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic impacted logistics Airmen across the United States Air Force and subsequently played a role into their risk seeking behavior on social media. Specifically, this research tested an expanded Planned Information Risk Seeking Model with organizational meetings as an antecedent to determine if current meetings influenced an Airman's perceived behavioral control, attitude toward seeking, subjective norms, knowledge sufficiency an intentions to seek information regarding COVID-19.

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Building Energy Consumption In New York City, Martha A. Olaleye

Dissertations and Theses

Since February 2020, the spread of COVID-19 affected the world economy, with the population of people contacting the virus in New York City at that time being at the highest in the United States of America. Thus, the need for remote/online learning was adopted for the safety of faculty, staffs, and students of New York Educational institution like CCNY. In the study, I focused on energy consumption as regards to COVID and POST-COVID periods in New York City (NYC), since most employees are working from home and schools are online which implies that most commercial buildings are vacant. Also due …

Uv-Incorporated Sanitation Lining For Disinfection Of Carpentry Tools In Grade Schools, Nicole Dembiczak, Alex Paxitzis, Quinn Piorkowski, Ivana Shah

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project will focus on the issues caused by a pandemic, particularly, sanitation issues and difficulties in a public area. After a considerable amount of research, it became evident that current sanitation methods are time inefficient, not always effective and wasteful. There are numerous misconceptions on how these methods work and skepticism of the products themselves. The pandemic caused by COVID-19 is an extremely relevant issue that has affected schools, hospitals and other high traffic areas. This project will focus on K-12 grade schools that struggle with quick, easy and effective cleaning methods in between and after class. We aim …

Plasmonically-Enhanced Dna-Rna Hybrid-Based Bioassay For Amplification-Free Quantification Of Sars-Cov-2, Yuxiong Liu

McKelvey School of Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COIVD-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a highly infectious respiratory illness. Within just a few months, it spread around the whole world and became a global pandemic. Real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) works as a gold standard method diagnosing COVID-19 with high sensitivity and specificity. But due to the programs of RT-PCR, it usually takes more than 24 hours to get the results while specialized devices are also required. False-negative results can happen as well using RT-PCR which increase the risk of spreading coronavirus. To promote quicker detection of COVID-19, …

Determining The Psychosocial Needs Of The Nurses Of Covid-19 Patients, Allison Stevens

ATU Theses and Dissertations 2021 - Present

Nurses are a vital element of the COVID-19 healthcare crisis and have been since the beginning of the COVID-19 response. The professional strain put on nurses included, but is not limited to: changing professional roles, rapidly changing policies and procedures, an influx of patients—particularly of high acuity, and change in workplace morale. However, nurses also had to carry the burdens of living as a member of society, family member, friend, community member, and above all, simply as a person surviving a pandemic themselves. With all of the stressors nurses have endured, it stands to reason that their psychosocial needs have …

Factors Influencing Service Robot Adoption: A Comparative Analysis Of Hotel-Specific Service Robot Acceptance Models, Ying Dong

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The market for service robots is expected to expand significantly owing to the increasing relevance of service automation under the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the growing managerial interest in robotic applications in the hotel industry, current robotic research has been mostly conceptual with limited robot data on hand. In light of this issue, this paper will conduct a comparative analysis of hotel-specific service robot acceptance models between the Service Robot Acceptance Model (sRAM) and the Service Robot Integration Willingness (SRIW) framework. By identifying key elements of each service robot acceptance model, this paper puts an emphasis on investigating …

Hybrid: The Future Of Construction Meetings In The Digital Age, Nicholas G. Orozco

Construction Management

Over the last few years, many construction companies have had to upheave traditional methods of construction meetings to adapt to rapidly changing COVID-19 safety and regulation protocols. For many, this has meant taking common in-person meetings (OAC, pre-construction, and design) and shifting them virtual. As companies continue to move forward in a post-pandemic climate, the question of whether they will continue with virtual meetings or revert to in-person meetings still lingers in the air. To get a better read on the future of construction meetings post-pandemic, a survey was sent to determine what most people prefer. A total of 21 …

Covid Response: Iterative Model Development In The Deployment Of Hand Sanitation Stations At A Large Public University, Tyler Obrien

All Theses

This study illustrates the significance of iterative model development using the deployment of hand sanitizer stations in buildings at Clemson University as a case study. The COVID-19 problem affected Clemson University, a major institution, in several ways requiring adaptations to existing policies and procedures to take place. Following guidelines provided by the Centers for Disease and Control (CDC), the university implemented several new strategies including placing hand sanitizer stations in several buildings on campus in order to try and mitigate the transmission of the virus. This study focuses on learning how the initial decision-making took place to then design a …

Analysis Of Benefits Of An Expansion To Udot's Incident Management Program, Logan Stewart Bennett

Theses and Dissertations

In 2018 the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) funded a study in which data were collected to evaluate performance measures for UDOT's Incident Management Team (IMT) program. After that study was completed, UDOT received funding to expand the size of its IMT program. Additionally, TransSuite, a data source used by the UDOT Traffic Operations Center to log incident-related data, was reconfigured to provide a higher quantity of performance measure data. This study made use of the new data source, in addition to Computer Aided Dispatch logs provided by the Utah Highway Patrol that were used in the first study, to …

A Mixed-Methods Approach To Explore Student Perceived Needs For Peer Mentorship In A College Of Engineering, Darcie Christensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

“Nobody makes it alone. Nobody has made it alone” (NOVA SHRM & Dulles SHRM, 2012, p. 5). Mentoring generally has positive outcomes, such as increasing output, staying in work or school, increasing confidence, and others (Campbell & Campbell, 2007; Crisp & Cruz, 2009; Eby et al., 2008; NASEM, 2019; Pfund et al., 2016). This dissertation study focused on student perceived needs for peer mentorship in engineering, which can fill in gaps of traditional mentorship by pairing mentors and mentees at similar levels, increasing comfort and emotional support to mentees (Allen et al., 2017; Haggard et al., 2011; Kram & Isabella, …

An Improved Earned Value Management Method Integrating Quality And Safety, Brian Briggs

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The construction industry invests significant time and money to improve quality and safety while reducing cost and schedule impacts. The industry has a sincere desire to improve construction project management methods to improve efficiency. Historically, quality and safety underperformances result from undermanaged quality control and safety activities. The cost and schedule impacts associated with poor quality work have always had an impact on construction operations. The unprecedented challenges and uncertainties of COVID-19 highlighted the need to improve the Earned Value Management (EVM) method within construction to reflect these quality and safety activities. The central goal of this dissertation is to …

Changes In Air-Quality In Milwaukee, Wi Due The Covid-19 Lockdown, Nathan Hay

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Shortly after COVID-19 started spreading across the country, Wisconsin instituted their shutdown on March 23rd, 2020. With large swaths of the population forced to stay at home, this presented a unique case study to evaluate the effects of reduced traffic volumes on vehicle related emissions. To do so, this study measured air quality on a 40-mile route within Milwaukee County on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 4 to 6 PM from the beginning of April until the end of August. Mobile sensors – a Sniffer 4D and micro aethalometer – were attached to a car and collected particulate matter (1.0-10 μm), …

Understanding The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic Within Educational Communities Using Longitudinal Analysis, Alexa Steidl

Master's Theses

At California State University, Los Angeles and California Polytechnic University, San Luis

Obispo, a longitudinal survey was created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic for students within their respective engineering departments. A combination of nonparametric and longitudinal analysis is performed to evaluate the impacts of the transition to a virtual educational environment and the stressors brought on by the global pandemic. Additional qualitative evaluation is performed to gain insight and make program recommendations to enhance the resilience of individuals in the academic systems. Results demonstrate a large shift in circumstances immediately at the start of the pandemic, with a variety …

International Analysis On The Traffic Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Fanny Margaretha Kristiansson

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The purpose of this research was to assess, compare, and contrast the impact of COVID-19 activity restrictions on road-based transportation activity in regions of the US, Sweden, and China from January 1st to December 31st, 2020. Roadway traffic volumes were used to relate the progression of reported COVID-19 cases and government directives for social separation in three countries with diverse governmental responses.

Among the contributions of this paper was the illustration of the timeline and level of public responses to closures, lockdowns, and reopening as represented through rapid traffic decreases and increases. Traffic was greatly impacted, showing that the pandemic …

Risk Management In Response To Covid-19: Comparative Case Study, Justin Hong

Construction Management

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many aspects of the construction industry. Construction industry members such as owners, developers, subcontractors have experienced varying degrees of impacts because of COVID-19. It is important for companies to adopt risk management strategies to mitigate risk and reduce potential injuries. Due to new rules and regulations mandated by the government, companies had to change the way they operate. This comparative case study focuses on how the pandemic has affected large and small residential companies and compare the risk management strategies set in place by different companies. It was determined that most residential companies were not …

Harrisburg University’S Face Shield Response For Health Care Workers, Matthew A. Walters

Experiential Learning Projects

This project was inducted into the Harrisburg University Digital Common's with a submittal event. The recording for this event can be accessed here: Harrisburg University’s Face Shield Response for Health Care Workers Submittal Event Recording

The pandemic has most definitely been a significant factor in how people operate throughout the past few years. The pandemic was first introduced at the end of 2019 and is still a current issue at the end of 2021. Close to the beginning of the pandemic, health care workers had found themselves with a shortage of protective gear to fight against the virus while working …