Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring Dimensions Of Well-Being Among Spouses Of Active-Duty Service Members, Lisa A. Gray

Theses and Dissertations

During an era when the United States has been engaged in the longest waging wars in U.S. history, military families have been exposed to extraordinary amounts of stress and have had to learn to adapt in a culture where repeated deployments, recurrent family separations, and frequent relocations have become the norm. A surge in research in recent years on the families of Service members has brought increased attention to the unique challenges and demands of spouses, raising concerns about how to best meet their needs. Despite the increased attention, few studies have focused on spousal well-being. Acknowledging this lack of …

Ceo Managerial Ability, Corporate Investment Quality, And The Value Of Cash, Huiqi Gan

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates how CEO managerial ability affects investment quality, investment efficiency, and the value of cash. Specifically, I examine whether higher managerial ability is associated with higher M&A quality, more efficient capital investments, and higher value of cash. Investment decision-making and implementation can signal a CEO’s managerial ability (Stein 2003), and shareholders assign more value to the cash of those firms with high ability CEOs. Thus, I predict that more able CEOs conduct higher quality M&A and make more efficient capital investment decisions. I also propose that the value of cash is higher for firms with more able CEOs. …

Chronic Behavioral And Cognitive Deficits In A Rat Survival Model Of Organophosphate Toxicity, Beverly Huang

Theses and Dissertations

Organophosphates (OPs) are a major class of pesticides and nerve agents that elicit acute toxicity by inhibiting acetylcholinesterase (AChE), the enzyme responsible for the degradation of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in the central and peripheral nervous systems. Acetylcholine accumulation following extensive AChE inhibition leads to an acute cholinergic syndrome characterized by autonomic dysfunction, involuntary movements, muscle fasciculations, respiratory distress, and seizures. Despite their classification as moderate to highly toxic, OP pesticides are the most widely used class of insecticides in the U.S., and are even more commonly used worldwide. Additionally, there is a growing concern that OP nerve agents could be …

African American Women’S Perceptions Of Hiv Prevention Communication With Their Reproductive Health Providers, Valerie Burge-Hall

Theses and Dissertations

In spite of a decline in HIV incidence rates among African American women, they still bear the most significant disease burden among U.S. women. Findings from numerous studies indicate probable explanations for the disparity, such as the impact of poverty, limited healthcare access, low literacy, and living in areas with high HIV rates. Additionally, many study results provide insight regarding prevention strategies. However, the aim of this study is to explore African American women’s perceptions regarding what HIV prevention communication, if any, occurred with their reproductive health providers (RHPs). In this study, 20 African American women with unknown HIV status …

Sex Offender Management Policies And Their Unintended Cosequences: A National Survey Of The Perceptions Of Professionals, Corey Call

Theses and Dissertations

The mid-1990s brought sex offenders to the forefront of policy issues due to several highly publicized cases of abduction, sexual assault, and murder involving children. Following these cases, a number of sex offender management policies were passed to quell public concern over the safety of children due to sex offenders. Most notably, these new sex offender management policies mandated the creation of publicly available registries of sex offenders and enacted residence restrictions that forbid sex offenders from residing within certain distances from areas where children commonly congregate.

Although current sex offender management policies have been revealed to be largely ineffective …

Investigating The Effects Of Obesity Prevention Campaigns, Courtney C. Simpson

Theses and Dissertations

Public health campaigns might not be universally helpful and could have detrimental consequences. The current investigation explored the effects of obesity prevention campaigns. Their impact was assessed using an experiment in which participants were randomized to view either weight focused obesity prevention campaigns or obesity prevention campaigns that did not use weight related terms. Results demonstrated that compared with campaigns without weight related terminology, weight focused campaigns increased negative perceptions of obesity and decreased self-efficacy for health behavior change. No differences in body satisfaction, thin-ideal internalization, state anxiety, or frequency of positive health behaviors were found based on the type …

Determinants Of Turnover Intent In Higher Education: The Case Of International And U.S. Faculty, Jaehee Park

Theses and Dissertations

In spite of the increase in the number of the international academic workforce and their potential benefits, international status has been relatively under-studied in Public Management and Higher Education literature in comparison with studies of age, gender, and race. Given these realities, the present study identifies characteristics of internal and external variables that influence international and U.S. faculty turnover intentions in a large public South Eastern research university.

To understand the variations in short-term and long-term turnover levels while controlling for various demographic, structural, and external variables, eight Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression analysis were performed using turnover intentions as …

General Dentists' Role In Providing Care To Very Young Children:Pediatric Dentists' Perspective, Shinjni Razdan

Theses and Dissertations

To examine the pediatric dentists’ perspective on level of care to children 0-3 years old by general dentists, an electronic survey was sent out to 5185 AAPD members and 769 responded (response rate: 14.8%). Forty-six percent agreed with a general dentist providing a dental home to children 0-3 years old. Only 24% agreed that general dentists could perform complex restorative and behavior management procedures for 0-3 years old. Younger respondents, pediatric dentists who practice in rural areas or teaching pediatric dentistry, and those who perceived adequate exposure during dental school were more likely to agree on general dentists proving a …

An Exploration On The Michael Chekhov Technique In Rehearsal, Performance And The Classroom, James P. Stover

Theses and Dissertations

• The Michael Chekhov Technique is a unique approach to acting that has been successfully used by professional actors for many years. This thesis explores finding a strong understanding of the technique as well as discovering ways to incorporate it into an undergraduate actor training program. The examination aims to further my aesthetic both as theatre teacher and practitioner. It includes training with master teachers in the technique, incorporating Chekhov exercises into undergraduate acting and movement classes and use of the technique on a production of Pride & Prejudice.

Visual-Audio Media: Transformation And Communication, Alexander Bruno

Theses and Dissertations

Designers are often concerned with communication through the visual; we focus on the printed object, images on screens, furniture, spaces, and other visual experiences. We should also be cognizant of audio and its communicative properties, especially when contextualized with visual content. Pairing visuals and audio can make a greater impact upon a viewer/listener than each media might make alone. My research focuses on a practice of working within strict sets of rules and boundaries to create visual-audio work. This visual-audio work not only communicates a concept or idea, but also lives as a research artifact of my design processes.

Polycultural Interactions: Fuzzy Identity, Xi Lu

Theses and Dissertations

“Robin D.G. Kelley coined the term polyculturalism as an alternative to multiculturalism, ‘since the latter often implies that cultures are fixed, discrete entities that exist side by side—a kind of zoological approach to culture.’ ”

Polyculturalism assumes the whole world’s cultures are interactive and fluid instead of independent and static, and individuals’ relationship to cultures are complex and cannot be categorized. Yet an individual constitutes multiple cultures, and individual identity embraces the various forms of culture in all aspects of one’s life.

My research examines how polyculturalism affects aspects of communications among people who hold a multiplicity of voices. It …

An Evaluation Of The Raise 5 Project: Preventing Hiv And Substance Abuse Among African American College Students, Joshua K. Brevard

Theses and Dissertations

African Americans have been disproportionately affected by HIV since the beginning of the epidemic and the disparities have worsened over time (CDC, 2013a). African Americans comprise about 12% of the U.S. population but represented about 44% of all new HIV infections in 2010 (CDC, 2014a). Young people (age 13–24) accounted for 26% of all new HIV infections in 2010, despite persons in this age range comprising just 17% of the population (CDC, 2014c). Young African Americans (age 13-24) are affected in particular. In 2010, they comprised 57% of infections in this age range (CDC, 2014c). Substance use is a major …

Cute As A Button, Marta R. Finkelstein

Theses and Dissertations

Cute As A Button explores powerlessness, vulnerability, illness and addiction all wrapped up in tender buttons and a cute, cuddly creature. Using animation, sculpture, sound and an intimate space, I surround the viewer in a saccharine nightmare, one that references the dark underbelly of the cute and the sweet. The visual and aural elements are representative of the psychological and emotional states of powerlessness, which are overcome by the act of making and exploring a medium over which I can have complete control.

Tracing Motion, Stephanie M. Clark

Theses and Dissertations

This document explores the use of motion within design to defamiliarize a message. The objective is to expand a viewer’s level of understanding through prolonged perception. I experiment with this idea using present-day tools which afford my own movement during the capturing process to create various visual interpretations of motion. I look to László Moholy-Nagy, Aleksandr Rodchenko and Eadweard Muybridge who explored the use of the camera, the new technology of their day, to understand its potential to create a new visual language. They believed the lens of the camera was the eye of the future—and the public’s exposure to …

Creating Place For A Placeless Generation, Laura Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

Making up one quarter of the current United States population, some 80 million Generation Y-ers are changing the ways in which we live, work and play. Dubbed “Millennials” this population is comprised of those individuals born between 1980 and 2000. This generation is the first to have been raised with cell phones, the internet, and reality television. The “Selfie” or “Me Generation” is snubbed for narcissism and an instant gratification attitude. Yet on the whole Millennials have progressive values, are well educated, are conscious of their health and are optimistic about the future despite coming of age during the Great …

Curiosity And Compassion: Curiosity And Attachment Security's Relationship With Empathic Responding To Hardship, Athena H. Cairo

Theses and Dissertations

Compassion requires both attention and motivation to engage with another person’s experience. Two studies examined whether curiosity—the interest and motivation to explore new or complex information—promotes empathic concern and suppresses personal distress. These studies also examined whether attachment insecurity moderates curiosity’s effect on empathy. Study 1 identified correlations among curiosity, attachment security, empathic concern, and personal distress traits. In Study 2, participants were primed with high or low curiosity before watching a video of a peer experiencing hardship, then reported state curiosity, empathic concern, personal distress, and prosocial motivation. Trait and state curiosity predicted greater empathic concern and prosocial motivation. …

First-Generation College Students: A Qualitative Exploration Of The Relationship Between Parental Education Level And Perceptions Of Faculty-Student Interaction, Micol Hutchison

Theses and Dissertations

While quantitative research has determined that first-generation college students (FGS) are less likely to interact with faculty than are their non-FGS peers, this qualitative study examines how incoming first-year college students, both FGS and non-FGS, perceive faculty-student interaction and whether they consider it important. Addressing different types of interaction with college instructors, both in-class and out-of-class, participants across a range of FGS status shared their views through surveys, individual interviews, and focus groups. Focusing specifically on incoming first year students, this study also explores the motives for, impediments to, and encouragements to faculty-student interaction that students identify. Finally, the study …

Avatar, Cyborg, Icevorg: Simulacra’S Scion, Guido E. Alvarez

Theses and Dissertations

I propose a theoretical framework that describes how avatars incorporate media as an inherent part of their nature and find a hosting body in cyborgs to navigate and spawn in media. I propose the birth of a new scion that combines avatar, medium and cyborg into a conceptual being that I call “ICEVORG.”

The ICEVORG expands beyond representation into the actual physical world by means of media transgression—more specifically, by the use of the Strange Loop also known as Metalepsis ICEVORG find an effective soil to thrive and interrogate our ideas of reality by means of iteration, expansion, fragmentation and …

Expanding Eco-Visualization: Sculpting Corn Production, Jennifer E. Figg

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation expands upon the definition of eco-visualization artwork. EV was originally defined in 2006 by Tiffany Holmes as a way to display the real time consumption statistics of key environmental resources for the goal of promoting ecological literacy. I assert that the final forms of EV artworks are not necessarily dependent on technology, and can differ in terms of media used, in that they can be sculptural, video-based, or static two-dimensional forms that communicate interpreted environmental information. There are two main categories of EV: one that is predominantly screen-based and another that employs a variety of modes of representation …

Using Structural Equation Modeling To Understand The Role Of The Family In Pediatric Asthma Contexts, Nour Al Ghriwati

Theses and Dissertations

Family factors have long been associated with the psychosocial adjustment of children with chronic illnesses, such as asthma (Minuchin, 1975; Rapee, 1997). Research indicates that negative family factors may also contribute to child disease severity, via bio-behavioral mechanisms of effect (Wood et al., 2006); however, these pathways have yet to be examined with a comprehensive focus on more positive family factors. This study sought to examine whether factors such as family cohesion, problem solving abilities, and communication influence asthma symptom severity in children via their effects on child depression and anxiety symptoms. Using structural equation modeling, we identified significant indirect …

Psychoactive Synthetic Cathinones (Or 'Bath Salts'): Investigation Of Mechanisms Of Action, Farhana Sakloth

Theses and Dissertations

Synthetic cathinones represent threatening and high abuse-potential designer drugs. These are analogs of cathinone (the b-keto analog of amphetamine (AMPH)) a naturally occurring stimulant found in the plant Catha Edulis. Methcathinone (MCAT) was the first synthetic analog of cathinone to be identified in 1987 by Glennon and co-workers and it exerted its action primarily through the dopamine transporter (DAT). Most central stimulants exert their action via monomaine transporters by causing either the release (e.g. cathinone analogs such as MCAT) or by preventing the reuptake (e.g. cocaine) of the neurotransmitter dopamine (DA) thus increasing the extracellular synaptosomal concentration of this …

First-Year Secondary Teachers’ Perceptions Of Their Preparedness To Integrate 21st Century Skills Into The Technology-Rich Classroom, Tracie Omohundro

Theses and Dissertations

School districts continue to integrate emerging technologies and expectations for 21^st century teaching and learning. This movement began with release of Goals 2000 (1994) and has continued through National Education Technology Plan (2010) that noted the “challenge for our education system is to leverage technology to create relevant learning experiences that mirror students’ daily lives and the reality of their futures.” In order to meet that challenge, schools must enlist teachers who are prepared to teach 21^st century skills in the technology-rich classroom. Teacher education programs also need to align their preparation models to prepare teachers for that …

The Role Of Psychology In Integrated Primary Care For Complex Patients: Effects On Mental Health, Utilization Of Medical Services, And Physiological Markers Of Health, Danielle C. Worthington

Theses and Dissertations

This study served as an initial evaluation of integrated psychology services within a clinic designed to serve uninsured patients with complex medical concerns and high utilization histories at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia. The current study evaluates patient outcomes, and more specifically, it further quantifies and describes the role that psychologists play in the primary care setting and their impact on utilization of medical care and in improved health outcomes. Additionally, the study evaluates psychologists’ success at treating mental and behavioral health conditions within the primary care model. The present study demonstrates that patients with complex medical …

Examining The Parent-Adolescent Bond And Parent-Offspring Marijuana Communication On Marijuana Use And Problems: A Test Of Primary Socialization Theory, Nikola Zaharakis

Theses and Dissertations

Marijuana use among American young adults is rising, and perceptions of harm are declining. Individual states continue to enact more lenient marijuana use and possession laws. Marijuana use is associated with many serious negative outcomes. Thus, marijuana use among this age group has become a public health concern. According to Primary Socialization Theory, parents exert their influence on youth behavior through the parent-adolescent bond and through communication. Previous researchers have identified parent-offspring communication about alcohol and tobacco as a potentially important target of prevention efforts. Little research has yet explored marijuana communication and its potential influence on use-related outcomes. This …

Sexual Behavior And Hiv Risk In Black College Women: The Influence Of Gender, Peer, And Relationship Beliefs, Melanie P. Moore

Theses and Dissertations

Black women in the United States disproportionately represent 64% of women with an HIV infection (CDC, 2013). Research is needed to better understand gender and culturally-specific factors that contribute to Black women’s HIV risk. The Theory of Gender and Power and the Theory of Planned behavior were used as theoretical frameworks in examining the effect of attitudinal beliefs (gender related beliefs), subjective norm beliefs (peer norms), and perceived behavioral control beliefs (relationship power) on sexual behavior in Black college women. Condom use and assertiveness in sexual communication were the dependent variables. Participants included 136 Black college women recruited through the …

A Comparison Of Obesity Interventions Using Energy Balance Models, Marcella Torres

Theses and Dissertations

An energy balance model of human metabolism developed by Hall et al. is extended to compare body composition outcomes among standard and proposed obesity interventions. Standard interventions include a drastic diet or a drastic diet with endurance training. Outcomes for these interventions are typically poor in clinical studies. Proposed interventions include a gradual diet and the addition of resistance training to preserve lean mass and metabolic rate. We see that resistance training, regardless of dietary strategy, achieves these goals. Finally, we observe that the optimal obesity intervention for continued maintenance of a healthy body composition following a diet includes a …

Relational Coordination: An Exploration Of Nursing Units, An Emergency Department And In-Patient Transfers, Mary Coffey

Theses and Dissertations

Emergency department (ED) crowding is a patient safety concern that has been increasing for more than a decade. Increased visits have resulted in ED crowding, longer wait times, ambulance diversions, and boarding of admitted patients (Hing & Bhuiya, 2012). Numerous factors affect ED crowding. Once various extraneous issues are resolved and a bed is available for a patient, it becomes the responsibility of nurses across unit boundaries to coordinate the patient transfer. This study applies Relational Coordination Theory (RCT) as a framework to provide nurses insight into the relational aspects of their work in the transfer of ED patients to …

Exploring Stakeholders' Perceptions Of The Evaluation Of Early Fieldwork Experience In An Undergraduate Teacher Preparation Program, Amber R. Peacock

Theses and Dissertations

This study is a qualitative meta-evaluation of the early field experience (EFE) program at a small, private, undergraduate teacher preparation program in Virginia focusing on the perceptions of preservice teachers, cooperating teachers and course instructors about the EFE evaluation objectives, evaluation experience, and resulting data usage. The EFE evaluation protocol at the study site is explored using a participatory-oriented evaluation model that solicited the perceptions of stakeholders. Analysis of EFE evaluation documents and semi-structured interviews with the stakeholders were conducted to explore the extent to which (1) official EFE objectives are congruent with the EFE evaluation, (2) the intended evaluation …

Low-Flow Domiciliary Oxygen As A Mechanism Of Ongoing Oxidative Stress In Copd Patients, Jill Stulce

Theses and Dissertations

Healthcare costs are escalating in the U.S., with a projected 48 trillion dollars by 2021. More than ever medical researches are obligated to ensure that costly treatment modalities are safe and effective. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a costly and debilitating disease, ranked as the third leading cause of death in America. Currently, treatment for COPD consists of anti-inflammatory agents, bronchodilators, antibiotics and supplemental oxygen when hypoxemia or clinical manifestations ensue. Oxidative stress is central to the pathology of COPD. Supplemental oxygen has been substantiated as an instigator of oxidative stress; however, LFDO has not been evaluated as a …

Growing Up In Ireland: Factors Impacting Sleep Patterns Of Preterm Infants, Joanne Fallon

Theses and Dissertations

GROWING UP IN IRELAND: FACTORS IMPACTING SLEEP PATTERNS OF PRETERM INFANTS

By Joanne Fallon MS, OT, PhD

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University

Virginia Commonwealth University, 2015.

Major Director: Shelly J. Lane, PhD, Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy

Preterm infants represent the largest child patient group in the European Union (EU), accounting for 5.5-11.4% of all births (European Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants, 2011b). Preterm birth is defined as birth prior to 37 weeks gestation. Infants born late preterm (34-36 weeks) are considered more …