Digital Commons Network^™

Analyzing Interactions Between Methcathinone Analogs And The Human Monoamine Transporters, Vy Nguyen

Theses and Dissertations

Psychostimulants elicit their psychological and behavioral effects through interactions with the monoamine transporters. These compounds are classified as either substrates or reuptake inhibitors, depending on their mechanism of action, and have varying potencies at the three human monoamine transporters, hDAT, hSERT, and hNET. Substrates and reuptake inhibitors also have distinct electrophysiological signatures: reuptake inhibitors cause hyperpolarization in HEK293 cells stably expressing the monoamine transporters, whereas substrate transport mediates a depolarizing current. Recent studies have shown that substrate-mediated depolarization is sufficient to activate L-type calcium channels, a characteristic which has been used to develop a novel calcium assay which uses calcium …

Determining Success Factors In Interprofessional Practice With Dynamic Teams, Danah Alsane

Theses and Dissertations

Background: The interprofessional healthcare team is dynamic to cope with complex issues and needs existing in the healthcare environment. Understanding the important factors that predict dynamic team effectiveness helps health educators to establish team training models that focus on improving collaborative student performance that facilitates their transition to practice and helps to improve the health and system outcomes.

Objectives:1) Assess the impact of a practice-based interprofessional education (IPE) model on student attitudes and knowledge toward interprofessional teamwork.2) Evaluate predictors associated with team effectiveness among dynamic student teams participating in a practice-based IPE setting.

Methods: This was an exploratory cross-sectional …

Dating Violence And Latina/O Emerging Adult’S Attitudes Towards Condoms And Condom Use Behaviors: Examining The Role Of Culture, Melissa Avila

Theses and Dissertations

Latina/o emerging adults living in southern states may be especially at risk of being disproportionately affected by HIV. In 2015, Latina/os aged 20 to 24 accounted for 14.7% of all 20-24-year old’s living with HIV in southern states, despite the fact that 20 to 24-year-olds make up 3.7% of the region’s overall population of individuals living with HIV (CDC, 2016; U.S. Census Bureau, 2017). Specifically, there continues to be groups of Latina/o emerging adults who do not use condoms when they are sexually active and who are not using condoms consistently. Condom use literature suggests that relationship factors, such as …

Getting To Zero Preventable Falls: An Exploratory Study, Kate Lim

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: The objective of this study is to examine relations between patient safety culture and processes of care, specifically, how patient safety culture influences the prevention of patient falls. The purpose of this inquiry is to identify the barriers and facilitators that can advance an inpatient rehabilitation facility to become a high reliability organization and advance interdisciplinary teamwork.

Method: A qualitative phenomenological approach was conducted and an interpretive phenomenological analysis explored the experiences of frontline staff with regard to patient safety culture and fall prevention. The study utilized semi-structured interviews with 24 frontline staff from three inpatient rehabilitation hospitals. Participants …

The Effect Of Change In Medi-Cal Dental Coverage On Dental Care Utilization Among Medi-Cal Beneficiaries, Min H. Zhang

Theses and Dissertations

One of the most important factors in accessing dental care is having dental insurance. For people with low incomes, Medicaid is the main source of health insurance. Medi-Cal is California’s Medicaid program. Adult dental services were mostly eliminated in Medi-Cal in 2009 due to the economic downturn and partially restored in 2014. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of change in Medi-Cal dental coverage, specifically the partial restoration of adult dental coverage in 2014, on dental care utilization among Medi-Cal beneficiaries. The partial restoration significantly increased the utilization rates in dental clinics from 2014 to 2017 …

A Longitudinal Study Of The Stress-Buffering Effects Of Romantic Relationships On Alcohol Outcomes In College Students Exposed To Trauma, Rebecca L. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined interplay between interpersonal trauma (IPT), relationship status, relationship satisfaction (SAT), and partner substance use (PSU), and whether these relationship dimensions moderated associations between IPT and alcohol outcomes. Data came from a longitudinal study of college students (N=9,911; 61%female; 49%White). Precollege IPT increased the likelihood of being in a relationship, while college-onset IPT decreased the likelihood. IPT predicted lower SAT and higher PSU. Individuals with precollege IPT consumed more alcohol than those without IPT, but this was mitigated for those in relationships. Individuals with college-onset IPT consumed more alcohol than those without IPT, and this was …

Mathematics Identity Construction In Successful African Americans: Reflections On Mathematics Experiences During Adolescence, Teri N. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

This project used narrative inquiry to examine adolescent experiences that contributed to the development of positive mathematics identities in successful African Americans. Ten African Americans, who had worked in a STEM-related occupation for at least two years, were asked to reflect on in- and out-of-school experiences with mathematics during their middle and high school years. Data collection included individual interviews and one focus group discussion. A combination of internal and external factors emerged as contributors to participants’ adolescent mathematics identities. Internal factors included early career interest, finding enjoyment in the challenges associated with learning mathematics, or facing setbacks they were …

The Increased Frequency Of Micronuclei Seen In Women With A History Of Childhood Sexual Abuse Reflects More Numerical Than Structural Acquired Chromosomal Events: A Discordant Identical Co-Twin Study, Kaitlyn M. Dochelli

Theses and Dissertations

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a stressful life experience with lasting/far-reaching health and psychopathological consequences. Our laboratory recently identified a significantly increased frequency of acquired chromosomal anomalies (assessed using the cytokinesis-blocked micronucleus assay) in adult female twins exposed to CSA when compared to their unexposed co-twin. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate potential mechanism(s) underlying the observed increases in levels of micronuclei in an expanded group of 90 female identical twins (61 CSA+ females and 29 CSA- females [including a total of 27 MZ co-twin pairs]) using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) methodologies, with PNA probes specific …

Revealing The Human Resource Development Discourse: A Mixed Methods Study Of Similarities And Differences In Academic And Practitioner Language, Or Labels-In-Use, Holly D. Jackson

Theses and Dissertations

Woven within the pages of HRD’s historical literature, a variety of scholarly voices can be found drawing attention to the increasing inconsistency in the language of the field. Within the literature, we also find evidence of a long-standing discord and debate regarding the field’s definition and identified boundaries. This is the first study that attempts to elevate the conversation of HRD’s definition to that of an exploration of what is shared, and what makes the discipline’s members unique. Utilizing Li’s (2009) lens of disciplinary identity and elements of Gee’s (1999) theory of Discourse, this study presents a concept of what …

A Longitudinal Investigation Of Interpersonal Trauma Exposure, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, And Cannabis Use Phenotypes Among College Students, Terrell A. Hicks

Theses and Dissertations

College students have an increased risk for cannabis use, trauma exposure, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Cannabis use disorder (CUD) and PTSD comorbidity is high, and given the negative consequences of the comorbidity (e.g., poor academic outcomes), there is a need to understand comorbid CUD-PTSD etiology. Two primary etiologic models exist: self-medication (i.e., PTSD à CUD) and high-risk (i.e., CUD à PTSD) hypotheses. This study 1) examined the prevalence and predictors of cannabis use and interpersonal trauma (IPT) exposure; 2) investigated the relationship between cannabis use and IPT; and 3) examined cannabis use, IPT, and PTSD through mediational self-medication and …

Acculturative Stress And Depressive Symptoms And Anxiety Symptoms In Asian American Emerging Adults: Identifying Moderators And Mediators, Anh-Thuy Le

Theses and Dissertations

This study explored relations among acculturative stress (i.e., perceived discrimination, parent-child communication difficulties, incongruent parent-child values, and a general measure of acculturative stress), depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, family conflict, ethnic identity, and social support in a sample of 207 Asian American emerging adults (ages 18-25). Regressions showed that acculturative stress was positively associated with depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms. Likewise, acculturative stress was positively related to family conflict, regardless of how the former was operationalized. Greater family conflict was also associated with greater depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms.

Mediation models found that, for each predictor of acculturative stress, family conflict …

Adverse Childhood Experiences, Neighborhood Disorganization, Co-Parenting: The Impact On College Student Mental Health, Mona L. Quarless

Theses and Dissertations

Though mental health issues are prevalent amongst college students, pre-college environment and experiences are largely overlooked as potential factors in scientific literature. The current study examined the association of neighborhood disorganization, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and mental health outcomes in a sample of college students. Utilizing the ecological model of human development and risk-resilience framework, I examined co-parenting quality as a plausible protective factor against the negative effects of adverse childhood experiences and neighborhood disorder. Self-report measures of ACEs, co-parenting quality, neighborhood disorder, anxiety, and depression were completed by a sample of college students (N = 259; mean age = …

The Role Of Strength: Navigating Perinatal Loss Among Black Women, Ashley N. Hill

Theses and Dissertations

In the U.S., Black mothers experience fetal and infant mortality at alarming rates when compared to White and Latina mothers (Gregory, Drake, & Martin, 2018). The intent of this study was to examine perinatal loss among Black American women and to expand understanding of how the Strong Black Woman (SBW) ideology influences bereavement. Data were gathered from (N=109) Black American bereaved mothers. It was predicted that endorsement of differing aspects of the SBW would moderate the relationship between perinatal grief and psychosocial outcomes (i.e., depression and post-traumatic growth). Regression analyses, alongside a bootstrapping procedure via PROCESS (Hayes, 2017), …

Rehabilitation Counselor Clinical Judgment Model Application With Data From An Individualized Placement And Support Trial For Veterans Living With Spinal Cord Injuries, Kevin Fields

Theses and Dissertations

Employment rates for veterans with spinal cord injuries remain low despite legislation aimed at helping individuals with significant barriers to employment succeed in finding competitive work. As access to services and resultant outcomes become more scrutinized, the need for Rehabilitation Counselors to efficiently allocate resources grows more vital to the cause. Existing research supports a mediated path model of rehabilitation counselor clinical judgment asserting observations of disability severity, intelligence, and psychosocial adjustment lead to inferences of functional status and attribution thereof, which collectively influence predictions of successful rehabilitation. The current study investigated the variance attributable to this clinical judgement model …

Motivational Interviewing In A Team-Based Wellness Clinic: Perceptions And Fidelity, Jodi M. Winship

Theses and Dissertations

INTRODUCTION: Motivational Interviewing (MI) is an evidenced based counseling style to elicit health behavior change. Team-based student clinics are an ideal climate for students to learn and practice team-based care, yet little is understood as to how client-centered communication styles such as MI are implemented in a team setting.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this dissertation was to conduct an exploratory study using mixed methods to better understand how an MI training translates to team-based communication with clients, the factors impacting team-based implementation of MI, and how team-based MI impacts clients’ perceived autonomy at a student-led, interprofessional, team-based wellness clinic for …

An Evaluation Of Differences In Motivations To Receive Cervical Cancer Screening And Follow-Up Care Between Black And White Women, Ashlee Sawyer

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Cervical cancer among Black women is a major individual and public health concern. Despite advancements in medical technology and policy, disparities in cervical cancer diagnosis and mortality still exist between White and Black women, with Black women having higher rates of diagnosis (10.0 vs 7.1 per 100,000) and mortality (4.1 vs 2.0 per 100,000). Previous studies have focused heavily on barriers to obtaining cervical cancer screening among Black women and efforts to improve screening rates. Despite speculation by researchers that gaps in receipt of quality follow-up care may contribute to disparities, its role in disparate mortality rates between Black …

Predictors Of Peripartum Care Attendance Among A Sample Of African American Women At Increased Risk For Poor Prenatal Care Compliance, Anna B. Parlier-Ahmad

Theses and Dissertations

Prenatal and postpartum care are important for reducing maternal and infant morbidity. Racial and ethnic disparities are prevalent in maternal peripartum health and infant birth outcomes as well as peripartum care access and utilization. They highlight the need to identify and better understand correlates of poor prenatal and postpartum care compliance. While risk factors for low adherence to peripartum care have been identified, no studies have looked specifically at predictors of prenatal and postpartum care attendance in an at-risk sample of African American pregnant women. Using existing data from an RCT targeting maternal and infant health disparities and comparing a …

Identifying Targets For Quality Improvement In A Community Child Mental Health Agency, Natalie K. Finn

Theses and Dissertations

The implementation of evidence-based practices has great potential to improve the quality of children’s services; however, with a large variety of available practices, it can be challenging to select targets for quality improvement in community-based treatment. This study used a method called relevance mapping to identify how thoroughly evidence-based programs could cover a specific population of children seeking services at a large public agency and identify practice elements relevant to these clients. A therapist survey was used to examine current practice at the agency. Eight therapists at the agency reported on their practice delivery for 141 clients. Results from relevance …

Pharmacological Assessment Of Adjuncts To Enhance Mu-Opioid Receptor Agonist Antinociception In Male Rhesus Monkeys: Does One + One = Three?, Jeremy Cornelissen

Theses and Dissertations

Mu-opioid receptor (MOR) agonists are effective agents for pain management, but are also limited by a number of undesirable effects. One approach to enhance the therapeutic effects and minimize the undesirable effects of MOR agonists may be to combine MOR agonists with an adjunct targeting a different receptor system. This targeted medical approach, known as “combination therapy”, aims to augment the desired effects of the MOR agonist (i.e. antinociception) and/or diminish the undesirable deleterious side effects of the MOR agonist. This dissertation investigated the utility of this approach in an assay of thermal nociception and schedule-controlled responding in male rhesus …

Mindfulness Training For Healthcare Professional Students: A Waitlist Controlled Pilot Study On Psychological And Work-Relevant Outcomes, Sarah Braun

Theses and Dissertations

Burnout in healthcare professionals (HCPs) can negatively affect HCPs’ health and the overall functioning of the healthcare system. Of great concern is the negative effect of HCP burnout on psychological, cognitive, and work-relevant functioning. Mindfulness-based interventions have been shown to decrease burnout in HCPs and preliminary evidence suggests they may improve work-relevant outcomes. However, the literature is limited by methodological issues and generalizability concerns. The current pragmatic trial investigated feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of Mindfulness for Interdisciplinary Healthcare Professionals (MIHP) using a partially randomized, waitlist-controlled, crossover design [intention-to-treat sample: 22 in the mindfulness group (MG), 26 in the control group …

Examining Sleep And Family Functioning In Pediatric Craniopharyngioma Using Ecological Momentary Assessment, Nour Al Ghriwati

Theses and Dissertations

Craniopharyngiomas are among the most common brain tumors in children and are associated with greater rates of sleep problems compared to other pediatric cancers. However, research examining sleep among youth with craniopharyngioma has been limited by a reliance on retrospective reports or sleep studies. Families also play a crucial role in children’s adjustment following a pediatric cancer diagnosis, yet remarkably little is known about transactional associations between family functioning and sleep in pediatric cancer. This study examined cross-sectional and daily associations among family functioning, affect, and sleep difficulties for youth with pediatric craniopharyngioma using retrospective reports and ecological momentary assessment …

Research Methods In Sport Syllabus (Fall 2019), Gregory Greenhalgh

Open Textbooks and Course Materials

This syllabus outlines the first semester of SPTL 603: Research Methods in Sport. The course schedule details the required readings, podcasts, and a LinkedIn Learning course.

An Exploration Of Racial/Ethnic Differences In The Association Between Perfectionism And Disordered Eating In College Students, Neha J. Goel, C Blair Burnette, Suzanne E. Mazzeo

Graduate Research Posters

Perfectionism is a robust risk factor for eating disorders (EDs). Although individually-oriented dimensions of perfectionism are strongly related to eating pathology, less is known about the contribution of parent-oriented dimensions, specifically parental expectations (PE) and parental criticisms (PC). Further, few studies have investigated these effects within racially/ethnically diverse samples. However, PE and PC might be particularly relevant to eating pathology among certain cultural groups, such as those from collectivistic and interdependent societies. This study examined associations among PE, PC, and ED symptoms across racial/ethnic groups. Undergraduates (N=706; 74.8% Female; 48% White, 19.8% Black, 7.1% Latinx, 16% Asian, 9.1% …

How Art Works: A Psychological Exploration, Julia A. Sienkewicz

Art Inquiries

Book review of How Art Works: A Psychological Exploration, by Ellen Winner.

Construction And Validation Of A Non-Medical Use Of Prescription Opioids Outcome Expectancies Scale Among College Students In China, Cheuk Chi Tam

Theses and Dissertations

Background:Non-medical use of prescription opioids (NMUPO) has become a clear threat to public health. Young adults (aged 18 to 25) have a high risk of NMUPO. My prior work on Chinese undergraduates indicates a high prevalence of lifetime NMUPO (49.2%). Health behavior theories propose that outcome expectancies are robust psychosocial determinants of substance use. Literature has identified the influence of outcome expectancies on alcohol and drug use. However, the role of outcome expectancies in NMUPO in China is unknown, and a scarcity of a valid measures for NMUPO outcome expectancies may be a barrier. Our previous research also found …

Why They Stay: Factors Contributing To Second Stage Teachers' Decisions To Remain In Teaching Profession, Samantha Hope

Theses and Dissertations

Teacher attrition, particularly in hard-to-staff urban schools, is a problem addressed by many researchers. Although this research often focuses on novice teachers, those with three or fewer years of experience, there is a growing body of literature that examines second stage teachers, those with between four and 20 years of experience. Like their novice colleagues, these second stage teachers are also at risk of leaving the profession, which can have negative consequences for students. While much of the research focuses on reasons why teachers leave the profession, there is a growing interest in understanding how teachers reach the decision to …

Older Artists And Acknowledging Ageism, Liz Langdon

International Journal of Lifelong Learning in Art Education

Intergenerational (IG) learning has the potential to reinforce ageist ideas, through the culturally produced binary of old and young which often describes IG learning. This research with older artists revealed implicit age bias associated with a modernist tradition in art education which minimized the value of art production viewed as feminine. Language associated with ageism shares the descriptors of the feminine and seep into our perceptions. Cooperative action research with multi-age participants facilitated personal growth and through critical reflection, implicit ageism revealed in the researcher’s prior perspective is revealed.

Intergenerational Narratives: The Personal Is Professional, Jodi Kushins, Amy B. Snider

International Journal of Lifelong Learning in Art Education

What began as a teacher-student relationship between educators Amy Brook Snider and Jodi Kushins has developed into a friendship and working partnership. At first, they did not consider their continuing long-distance connection as intergenerational. They shared experiences and exchanged ideas oblivious to the great difference in their ages. But as online tools, research, and communication emerged as a central focus of Jodi’s life and teaching, they became aware that this development might lead to an intergenerational digital divide between them. In order to explore their different responses to what has been called screen culture, they brought back their puppet alter …

Leaf-Ing A Legacy, Susan R. Whiteland

International Journal of Lifelong Learning in Art Education

Leaf-ing a Legacy is the story of a university art education class that joined with an elementary classroom and residents in a long term health/rehabilitative center through a service-learning project that utilized digital technology and art making in a problem-based learning format to explore the concept of legacy. Evidence was found that the experience promoted socio-emotional learning and fostered the building of socio-emotional capital for the participants involved.

International Journal Of Lifelong Learning In Art Education 2018 Full Issue, Pamela H. Lawton

International Journal of Lifelong Learning in Art Education

No abstract provided.