Digital Commons Network^™

Developing Positive Working Relationships In A Large Urban School District, June Justa Chennault

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation provides an overview of the working relationships among key leaders within a large urban school district in the Southeastern part of the United States. This study examined the communication methods and responsibilities of each key player within the decision-making process for the district at various levels of leadership. Results called for the exploration of (a) effective communication, (b) verbal and nonverbal techniques, (c) electronic means of communication, (d) informal styles of communication, (e) interpersonal communication, (f) communication styles, (g) leadership styles, and (h) conflict management, which delineated the theoretical framework and research questions for this study. This …

Exploratory Study Of Breast Cancer Survivors' Lived Experience : Activity Engagement During And After Breast Cancer Treatment, Anne Fleischer

Occupational Therapy Program Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The aim of this study is to describe breast cancer survivors' experiences and the associated meanings participating in their important activities during and after breast cancer treatment and the relationship among the survivor, environment, occupation, and performance, using a concurrent mixed method design. Ten survivors between the ages of 45 and 64 with Stage I, II, or III breast cancer who had been treated consecutively with surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy were recruited for the study. Each survivor completed the Activity Card Sort-modified scoring system (ACSm) during the first and last week of radiation therapy and 3 and 6 months …

Employment Needs Of The Age 21 And Over Id Population In South Florida : An Occupational Therapy Perspective, Ingris Treminio

Occupational Therapy Program Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

A review in the literature makes it evident that employment needs of the age 21 and over ID population are not being met; the employment rate for this population continues to be less than half of the employment rate of the general population (Siperstein et al., 2013). There is evidence that occupational therapy has the potential to meet the employment needs of this population, however, practice guidelines for occupational therapists working with this population are limited. This study recruited seven participants and interviewed them using a needs assessment approach to investigate the employment needs of the age 21 and over …

Implicit Measures And Online Risks, Lucinda W. Wang

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

Information systems researchers typically use self-report measures, such as questionnaires to study consumers’ online risk perception. The self-report approach captures the conscious perception of online risk but not the unconscious perception that precedes and dominates human being’s decision-making. A theoretical model in which implicit risk perception precedes explicit risk evaluation is proposed. The research model proposes that implicit risk affects both explicit risk and the attitude towards online purchase. In a direct path, the implicit risk affects attitude towards purchase. In an indirect path, the implicit risk affects explicit risk, which in turn affects attitude towards purchase.

The stimulus used …

Security Frameworks For Machine-To-Machine Devices And Networks, Michael Demblewski

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

Attacks against mobile systems have escalated over the past decade. There have been increases of fraud, platform attacks, and malware. The Internet of Things (IoT) offers a new attack vector for Cybercriminals. M2M contributes to the growing number of devices that use wireless systems for Internet connection. As new applications and platforms are created, old vulnerabilities are transferred to next-generation systems. There is a research gap that exists between the current approaches for security framework development and the understanding of how these new technologies are different and how they are similar. This gap exists because system designers, security architects, and …

To Fidget Or Not To Fidget: The Effect Of Movement On Cognition, Kelsey Diane Grodner

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research suggests that there is controversy regarding the effects of fidgeting. On one hand, fidgeting has been associated with inattention. On the other hand, the act of suppressing movement may have extensive costs to cognitive abilities. Thus, allowing fidgeting might be beneficial for attention. However certain fidgeting behaviors, such as large body movements, might be disruptive in certain situations, like a classroom or an office meeting. Fidget toys have been developed that allow for smaller fidgeting movements that are non-disruptive. Most previous studies have been conducted in an elementary school classroom and have used primarily observational data. Here we …

Closing Time And Cheerleader Effects Are Moderated By Target Value, Jackie R. Mcdowell

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research on factors influencing evaluations of mate value has revealed seemingly contradictory results. Specifically, the Closing Time Effect predicts that individuals will be viewed as more attractive when there are fewer individuals to choose from, while the Cheerleader Effect predicts that individuals will be viewed as more attractive when they are in the presence of others. The current study evaluates the influence of baseline measures of attractiveness on each of these effects. Results indicate that low value individuals may be more subject to Closing Time Effects, while high value individuals benefit from the Cheerleader Effect. The influence of mating …

The Effects Of Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting On Audit Quality, Financial, Timothy Shawn Creel

HCBE Theses and Dissertations

Previous CSR studies have examined the financial benefits of corporate social responsibility (CSR) or theories of CSR including stakeholder or legitimacy theory (Cho & Patten, 2007; Woller, 2007). Relative to companies not filing CSR reports, companies filing the reports obtain financial benefits (Lev, Pertrovits, and Radhakrishnan, 2010), experience improved reputation (Toms, 2002), face less financial risk (Orlitzky and Benjamin, 2001), and observe higher earnings (accruals) quality (Kim, Park, & Wier, 2012; Pyo & Lee, 2013). Further, internal control weaknesses, financial restatements, and discretionary accruals have been reported to lead to low audit quality and increased financial risk (Ashbaugh-Skaife, Collins, & …

Can Social Stories Lead To An Improved Theory Of Mind Amongst Individuals With Autism?, Margaret Rose Lorenzetti

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigated whether Social Stories used in conjunction with perspective- taking questions would lead to an improved Theory of Mind (ToM) in three participants diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). We assessed participants’ perspective taking in a baseline condition, implemented a Social Story condition, and tested participants’ perspective taking again in a post-intervention condition. ToM was assessed using two variations of the false belief measures, namely the change-location and unexpected-contents paradigms. Each Social Story included three perspective-taking questions that required participants to infer a character’s emotion or perspective. Results indicated that participants’ percentage scores of correct responses increased markedly …

The Interaction Of Perceived Organizational Support And Emotional Intelligence: Mediated Moderated Effects On Work Outcomes, John Fazio

HCBE Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to explore a conditional process through which the perception of organizational support relates to workers’ intention to quit and performance. These relations were expected to be indirectly effected by workers’ levels of job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and buffered by workers’ levels of emotional intelligence, such that the relations would be weaker for employees possessing higher levels of emotional intelligence. Data was collected at a medium sized healthcare facility in south-central West Virginia through emailed surveys utilizing validated and empirically grounded scales for all constructs. The sample of 213 employees equated to a …

Tracing The History Of Grounded Theory Methodology: From Formation To Fragmentation, Méabh Kenny, Robert Fourie

The Qualitative Report

There are very few articles, which track the history of Grounded Theory (GT) methodology from its tentative conception to its present divisions. This journal article addresses the dearth by tracing the history of GT methodology from its conception in the 1960’s, discussing the context of its composition, character, and contribution. Subsequently, the article follows the maturation of GT which is characterised by a series of contentious and, at times, antagonistic academic debates. The crux of these debates centres on disputes over core tenets of GT and have resulted in three dominant and divergent configurations of the GT methodology: Classic, Straussian, …

Authenticity In Constructivist Inquiry: Assessing An Elusive Construct, Patrick Shannon, Elyse Hambacher

The Qualitative Report

Methodological rigor in constructivist inquiry is established through an assessment of trustworthiness and authenticity. Trustworthiness parallels the positivistic concepts of internal and external validity, focusing on an assessment of the inquiry process. Authenticity, however, is unique to constructivist inquiry and has no parallel in the positivistic paradigm. Authenticity involves an assessment of the meaningfulness and usefulness of interactive inquiry processes and social change that results from these processes. However, the techniques for ascertaining authenticity are in the early stages of development. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to describe a process for assessing authenticity in a constructivist inquiry. A …

Improvement Of Ifng Elispot Performance Following Overnight Resting Of Frozen Pbmc Samples Confirmed Through Rigorous Statistical Analysis, Radleigh Santos, Alcinette Bunying, Nazila Sabri, John Yu, Anthony Gringeri, James Bender, Sylvia Janetzki, Clemencia Pinilla, Valeria A. Judkowski

Mathematics Faculty Articles

Immune monitoring of functional responses is a fundamental parameter to establish correlates of protection in clinical trials evaluating vaccines and therapies to boost antigen-specific responses. The IFNg ELISPOT assay is a well-standardized and validated method for the determination of functional IFNg-producing T-cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC); however, its performance greatly depends on the quality and integrity of the cryopreserved PBMC. Here, we investigate the effect of overnight (ON) resting of the PBMC on the detection of CD8-restricted peptide-specific responses by IFNg ELISPOT. The study used PBMC from healthy donors to evaluate the CD8 T-cell response to five pooled …

The Institutional Review Board (Irb) And Faculty: Does The Irb Challenge Faculty Professionalism In The Social Sciences?, Glenda Droogsma Musoba, Stacy A. Jacob, Leslie J. Robinson

The Qualitative Report

Institutional Review Boards (IRB) were instituted to protect the rights of research participants and due to past (and at times egregious) practices committed in the name of research. We question whether the IRB is currently overstepping its bounds into the domain of the researcher. We illustrate possible ways in which the IRB subtlety and not so subtlety challenge faculty professionalism and limit faculty research independence, highlighting some instances in which qualitative research topics bump up against boards that mistrust or misunderstand the nature of qualitative research. Using case study vignettes from five universities, our concerns focused on mission creep and …

Servant Leadership To Toxic Leadership: Power Of Influence Over Power Of Control, David B. Ross, Rande Matteson, Julie Exposito

Faculty Presentations

To lead, you must serve. Servant leadership is the systematic process of developing the needs of servants ahead of those leaders found within private or public institutions. The principle behind effective leadership is based on the interplay of responsibility, respect, care, and working with people, not against people. Ultimately, leadership is about character and substance. Using the distinct characteristics of servant leadership to promote and foster the development of successful individuals is one of the fundamental concepts of servant leaders. Honest and caring concern for others leads to empowerment and emotional support which inspires the members to embrace the needs …

The Influence Of Confucianism On Identity Formation Of A Multi-Skilled Migrant: An Autoethnography, Annabella Fung

The Qualitative Report

In this autoethnographical study, I examine how my identities were influenced by Confucianism. Two main Confucian concepts were examined: “selfperfection,” and “filial piety and submissiveness.” As a migrant who left Macau for Australia at fifteen, I have been immersed in diverse cultural climates, experienced gender bias, identity crisis and racial discrimination. I consider all experiences as essential steps of my evolution with ethnographic, interpretative, phenomenological and narrative understandings. This paper introduces the term “seasonal fluctuations” as a way to describe the changing meanings of my lived experiences that were interrogated by my three distinctive personalities: The Writer, The Interpreter and …

What's Wrong With Me?: An Autoethnographic Investigation Of The Co-Cultural Communicative Practices Of Living With Tourette Syndrome During Adolescence, Mark Congdon Jr.

The Qualitative Report

Using an Autoethnographic methodology, this essay explores how I was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome. My experience illustrates a dynamic and difficult process of understanding and negotiating assimilation, using a variety of communication strategies related to self-perception, perceptions of others, and interactions with others. Using Co-Cultural theory (CCT) as a theoretical framework, three themes emerged from my experience: (1) nonassertive assimilation: negotiating with relationships of authority, (2) aggressive assimilation: negotiating relationships with peers, and (3) nonassertive separation: the convergence of negotiating relationships of authority and with peers. It is my hope that my story expands the awareness and conversation among and …

Changes In Coral Community Composition At Devil's Crown, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador: A 7,700 Year Perspective, Katharine Jane Hendrickson

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Coral mortality caused by El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) activity and its related disturbances has been researched throughout the Eastern Pacific. In the past three decades, disturbances related to the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) have been shown to influence coral growth in the Eastern Pacific. In the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, more than 97% of corals experienced mortality after the severe 1982-1983 ENSO episode. However, two of the most dominant coral species found in a coral community adjacent to Devil’s Crown; Psammocora stellata and Diaseris distorta survived this severe ENSO event. By reconstructing sediment cores of the coral community, this study assessed …

Distribution, Growth, And Impact Of The Coral-Excavating Sponge, Cliona Delitrix, On The Stony Coral Communities Offshore Southeast Florida, Ari Halperin

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Bioerosion is a major process that affects the carbonate balance on coral reefs, and excavating sponges from the genus Cliona are some of the most important bioeroders on Caribbean reefs. The orange boring sponge, Cliona delitrix, is an abundant excavating sponge offshore southeast Florida that frequently colonizes dead portions of live stony corals, killing live coral tissue as it grows. With the recent decline in coral cover attributed to combined environmental and anthropogenic stressors, the increasing abundance of excavating sponges poses yet another threat to the persistence of Caribbean coral reefs.

In the first part of this study, I …

The Current Volume 25 : Issue 15, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

The Current Volume 25 : Issue 14, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

What Can The Therapeutic Interviewer Learn From The Qualitative Research Interviewer? (And Vice Versa), Chris Jackson

Quadrivium: A Journal of Multidisciplinary Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Conceptions Of Mental Illness: Cultural Perspectives And Treatment Implications, Lena Hall

Quadrivium: A Journal of Multidisciplinary Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Use Of Semi-Structured Interviews To Explore Competing Demands In A Prostate Cancer Prevention Intervention Clinical Trial (Pcpict), Theresa Crocker, Karen Besterman-Dahan, David Himmelgreen, Heide Castañeda, Clement K. Gwede, Nagi Kumar

The Qualitative Report

In this paper we report on findings from the first known study using qualitative methods to explore factors influencing physicians’ participation in an ongoing federally-funded prostate cancer chemoprevention clinical trial. We sought to identify ways to improve collaboration between researchers and physicians and enhance the success of future projects and employed purposive sampling to recruit physician/investigators who were involved or invited to participate in the trial. Using the data from open-ended semi-structured interviews, we examined patterns in their languaging and created themes. We found that individual and structural factors served as barriers and facilitators to participation. Willingness and desire to …

The Lived Experience Of Honduran And Usa Nursing Students Working Together In A Study Abroad Program, Lorinda J. Sealey, Donna Hathorn

The Qualitative Report

Nursing study abroad is one approach to preparing student nurses to work more effectively in international environments as well as at home with culturally diverse clients. These programs foster self-reflection by permitting students to spend considerable time immersed in different cultures, thus exposing them to clients with different health beliefs and values. The authors of this transformational phenomenological study examined the lived experience of American and Honduran nursing students working collaboratively during a nursing study abroad program. One-time audio-recorded semi structured interviews were conducted to gather data from American and Honduran students. Six themes emerged: Communication (i.e., language and communication …

Not Just For Beginners - A Review Of Successful Qualitative Research: A Practical Guide For Beginners, Gerald A. Craver

The Qualitative Report

In Successful Qualitative Research: A Practical Guide for Beginners (2013), Virginia Braun and Victoria Clarke present their method of thematic analysis as well as some strategies for successfully conducting qualitative research. The book is user-friendly and contains practical advice that may appeal to both novices and experienced researchers alike.

Factors Impacting Information Security Noncompliance When Completing Job Tasks, Martha Nanette Harrell

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

Work systems are comprised of the technical and social systems that should harmoniously work together to ensure a successful attainment of organizational goals and objectives. Information security controls are often designed to protect the information system and seldom consider the work system design. Using a positivist case study, this research examines the user's perception of having to choose between completing job tasks or remaining compliant with information security controls. An understanding of this phenomenon can help mitigate the risk associated with an information system security user's choice. Most previous research fails to consider the work system perspective on this issue. …

Cultural Proximity And Reflexivity In Interpreting Transnational Media Texts: The Case Of Malaysians Consuming Japanese Popular Culture, Eriko Yamato

The Qualitative Report

Television programs such as animation and drama series from Japan have become common transnational products in Malaysia. Since studies on Malaysians who consume Japanese popular culture are lacking even a decade after its substantial rise in popularity, this qualitative study was designed to explore the media consumption of Japanese popular culture in Malaysia. In this article I examined how Malaysians are interpreting their favorite media texts from Japan specifically revisiting the concepts of “cultural proximity” and “reflexivity” suggested in the other studies of Japanese popular culture and the audience. I conducted in-depth interviews with 12 participants who have been consuming …

Qualitative Perspectives Toward Relational Connection In Pastoral Ministry, Jonathan W. Young, Michael W. Firmin

The Qualitative Report

We present the results of a phenomenological, qualitative research study in which 13 Southern Baptist (SB) pastors were administered in-depth interviews. The sample was selected from a total of 37 exemplars, identified in the quantitative component of a larger mixed-methods study, regarding the pastors’ perspectives toward relational connection in pastoral ministry. Three themes emerged from the data regarding relational connection in pastoral ministry. First, pastors indicated the need to be intentional about pastoral connection. Second, the pastors stressed the importance of being available to congregants who specifically desire pastoral connection. Finally, the participants related that pastors should give particular attention …

Synthesizing Qualitative Research, Ronald J. Chenail

The Qualitative Report Conference

Systematic reviews of research literature have emerged as important tools in evidence-based practice. The importance of qualitative research findings in this pursuit has led to the development of meta-synthesis approaches creating new interpretations from primary qualitative findings. A step-by-step process for conducting such a qualitative meta-synthesis will be shared.