Digital Commons Network^™

The Lived Experiences Of K-12 Instructional Technology Leaders During Covid-19, Robin Jackson

Dissertations

This study examines the lived experiences of K-12 Instructional Technology Leaders in rural schools and school districts throughout Mississippi. It sought to explore the challenges that were encountered, the strategies they were employed, and the lessons that were learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, as traditional classroom teaching and learning was abruptly transitioned to 100% online or remote teaching and learning. Five participants were recruited. Only one participant holds the actual title of an instructional technology leader of their school district, while the other four assumed the role and responsibilities of an instructional technology leader for their schools or school districts. …

Returning To School After A Pandemic: K-12 School Mental Health Practitioners’ Perspectives Returning To School In Regard To Mindset, Behavior, Performance, And Social Connections, Viridiana Benitez Esparza

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to determine K-12 school mental health practitioners’ perceptions of their experiences working with students following the 2-year educational/social/emotional trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic with regard to the mental health practitioners’ mindset, behavior, performance, and social connections. Methodology: The researcher conducted a phenomenological study examining particular experiences of participants to understand their perspective during a phenomenon (McMillan & Schumacher, 2006). This qualitative study interviewed 12 school mental health practitioners who served in K-12 public schools after the pandemic in Los Angeles County, California. Semi-structured interview questions were used for data collection and aligned …

Using Industry Sector Entropy To Predict Economic Community Disaster Resilience: Real-World Verification From The Covid-19 Pandemic, Thomas Brindle

Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented an opportunity for disaster science researchers to gain insight into the underlying nature of community resilience through comparing the socioeconomic effects of government action to a common threat across urban population centers of varying economic compositions. For example, the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on employment related to public health mitigation efforts in the leisure and hospitality sector of Las Vegas, NV, during the onset of the pandemic were well publicized. In comparison, other population centers of similar size but with different economic sector composition varied in the degree to which employment were affected, …

Administrator Perspectives On Teacher Recruitment And Retention During A Pandemic, Matthew Aaron Carr

Dissertations

The global COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally changed education across the United States leaving a shortage of highly qualified teachers to fill positions in classrooms (Nguyen et al., 2022; Schmitt & deCourcy, 2022). This research study utilized the theoretical framework of the Four-Capital Theoretical Model of Teacher Retention and Attrition (Mason & Matas, 2015). This qualitative study utilized open-ended survey questions and follow-up interviews to elicit the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and to determine effective strategies to the recruitment and retention of high-quality teachers. Sixty-two public school administrators shared their perspectives through the survey, while eight administrators participated in follow-up interviews. …

Covid-19 Pandemic: Lived Experiences Of Teachers Supporting Students’ Socialemotional Learning Needs Upon Returning To Face-To-Face Instruction, Valerie Cover

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of San Bernardino County elementary school teachers in supporting students' social-emotional learning needs upon returning to face-to-face instruction after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methodology: This phenomenological study identified and described San Bernardino County elementary school teachers' experiences supporting students' social-emotional needs upon returning to face-to-face instruction after the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were purposively chosen based on specific criteria of working in a public kindergarten through sixth grade setting within San Bernardino County. The participants answered 15 semi-structured questions. The transcribed data collected by the researcher during the …

A Mixed Methods Study On Urban Educators’ Feelings Of Preparedness To Implement Practices That Impact Social And Emotional Learning In A Mid-Pandemic Environment, Emily Dittmer

Dissertations

The purpose of the mixed methods study was to evaluate urban educators’ perceptions of their preparedness to implement social and emotional learning strategies in their classrooms/workspaces as well as to understand what the educators’ experiences were as their students returned to a five day a week school schedule after a year and a half of disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Those involved in the study included educators from four K-8 public charter schools located in an urban Midwestern environment. Quantitative data was obtained through the administration of two identical surveys that were completed by volunteer participants at two different …

Covid-19, Olfactory Functioning, And Depressive Symptoms, Kevin Davis Psy.D.

Dissertations

The focus in this study was to investigate whether people who continue to experience a disordered sense of smell after recovering from COVID-19 are more likely to have higher levels of depressive symptoms. Data collection involved two questionnaires: the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) to assess depressive symptoms and the Assessment of Self-Reported Olfactory Functioning and Olfaction-Related Quality of Life (ASOF) to assess olfactory functioning. Additionally, general survey questions were asked to evaluate physical and mental health outcomes related to COVID-19. Results showed individuals who did not subjectively return to their baseline sense of smell after recovering from COVID-19 had lower …

The Lived Experiences Of Icu, Med-Surg, And Er Nurses In The United States Attempting To Breastfeed During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Amy Seay

Dissertations

Breastfeeding is important to promote the health of both mothers and babies (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2021). Many mothers experience workplace barriers and stress which negatively impact breastfeeding duration (McCardel & Padilla, 2020; Nagel et al., 2022). However, a gap in the literature exists surrounding specific barriers and the impact of stress on U.S. nurses who breastfeed. Specifically, workplace challenges and stress among nurses resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic lack exploration.

This interpretive phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of ICU, Med-Surg, and ER nurses who attempted to breastfeed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Roy’s adaptation model was …

Factors Affecting Changes In Road Traffic Collision Related Injuries And Deaths Over Time: The Global And The United Arab Emirates Perspectives, Yasin Jemal Yasin

Dissertations

Road traffic collisions (RTCs) cause 1.35 million deaths per year worldwide. Approximately 50% of these deaths were among pedestrians and motorized 2-3-wheeler users. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), RTC deaths were higher compared to other high-income countries (HICs). The United Nations (UN) Decade of Action for road safety 2011-2020, aimed to reduce road traffic deaths by 50% by the year 2020. The aim of this dissertation was to investigate factors affecting changes in RTC-related injuries and deaths over time at global and UAE levels. Multiple research methods were used to investigate the research questions. Global data on pedestrian and …

Twitter Sentiment Analysis: Applications In Healthcare And Finance, Jiali Wang

Dissertations

This research explores the influence of Twitter sentiment on healthcare and finance industries. It assesses how Twitter sentiment and culture measure influence COVID-19 statistics, and it investigates the impact of Twitter sentiment on S&P 1500 stock mispricing. Furthermore, it examines how tweet sentiment predicts major industry returns.

The first part examines how Hofstede’s Culture Dimensions (HCD) and Twitter economic uncertainty index (TEU) relate to COVID-19 infection rate and death rate. The results show certain aspects in HCD, such as power distance index (PDI) and masculinity (MAS) both are negatively and significantly associated with the infection rate, while indulgence (IVR) and …

A Qualitative Study On Teachers' Perceptions Of Virtual Instruction During The Covid-19 Pandemic In A Midwest Public School District, Tina Lauer

Dissertations

During the COVID-19 pandemic, schools closed to in-person instruction and forced teachers and students into virtual learning environments. Schools and districts had to create new ways to deliver curriculum to their students, and most chose to switch to an online/virtual learning environment. In this learning environment, the teachers taught from a distance, and students received their instruction through synchronous and asynchronous methods. This change in content delivery was a new experience for most educators. Teachers worldwide expressed their frustrations with virtual instruction and dissatisfaction with student engagement through social media and mainstream media outlets. The study aimed to determine teachers’ …

Multi-Method Approach To Examining Psychosocial Responses And Reactions To Covid-19 In The Us And China, Fan Li

Dissertations

Objective

The purpose is to examine health care providers’ psychosocial responses to COVID-19 in China and the US via exploring relationships among psychological responses and describing experiences of working at the epicenter during the pandemic.

Methods

In manuscript one, a cross-sectional study was conducted in nurse and physician volunteers who provided direct care to COVID-19 patients in Wuhan (volunteers) and those with no COVID-19 contact outside of Wuhan (non-volunteers). A path analysis theoretical model was developed to illustrate the relationships among psychosocial variables and was separately applied to volunteer and non-volunteer groups.

In manuscript two, a cross-sectional study was conducted …

An Investigation Of Anti-Intellectualism Among Nurses, Jamie Davis-Tubbs

Dissertations

Anti-intellectualism is often offered as an explanation for irrational actions, especially in the grips of uncertainty. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have uncovered the consequences of anti-intellectualism within the healthcare system. Nurses, the most identifiability trusted healthcare professionals, have been used to illustrate a healthcare paradox regarding COVID-19. The healthcare paradox presents nurses as highly trained healthcare professionals who do not believe in their own science and reject scientific expertise. Furthermore, nursing anti-intellectualism has been used to spread misinformation during a major health crisis. Yet, we do not know the depth in which anti-intellectualism exists within the nursing profession. …

Media Narrative Competition Between The U.S. And China During Covid-19, Zhenzhu Zhang

Dissertations

This study examines the narratives that were presented in Chinese and American media by using Dr. Li Wenliang (one of the first people who tried to raise the alarm about the outbreak of COVID-19), and the COVID-19 origin controversy as case studies to understand how these news stories conflicted and which tellings became dominant. The way these two cases have been depicted in the media has changed over time. Understanding how that depiction changed is important because it helps demonstrate how narratives function to frame crises. The current study uses narrative, and framing theories to support thematic analysis of news …

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 …

Cardiology Implications Of Ed Covid-19 Patients In An Underserved Rural Health Care Environment, Pedro Colio

Dissertations

Background/Purpose: Positive COVID-19 patients with chronic comorbidities have been associated with severe cardiac complications (e.g., STEMI, NSTEMI, myocarditis, pericarditis, AF) specifically among underserved communities. Acute STEMI and NSTEMI are cardiac conditions associated with ruptured atherosclerotic plaque leading to significant myocardial injury. AF, the most common arrhythmia leading to cerebrovascular accidents, is also common in hospitalized patients with severe illnesses. Myocarditis and pericarditis are inflammatory heart conditions associated with acute viral infections. According to the literature, these cardiac issues have been linked as complications of COVID-19. COVID 19 is an emerging, complex, and costly public health challenge globally with potential lifelong …

Digital Equity: Difficulties Of Implementing The 1:1 Computing Initiative In Low-Income Areas, Demetric D. Williams

Dissertations

Successful One-to-One Computing Initiative implementation requires educators to communicate and collaborate effectively with everyone in the learning community. However, other factors such as teacher’s professional development, student’s perception, and parent’s perception often affect the implementation of the One-to-One Computing Initiative. School districts, which serve low-income areas in Mississippi, have difficulties ensuring students and communities have access to the information technology they need to participate outside the school setting. The concept is often called digital equity. However, when officials do not address the capacity, there is a vital threat to the participants’ civic, cultural, employment, lifelong learning, and access to essential …

A Case Study In Resiliency: How A University Survived A Pandemic, Mary Ellen Stewart

Dissertations

This case study was conducted to investigate how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the campus of a small private university in central Mississippi, where traditionally, relational community and interaction were key contributors to campus culture. Through document analysis, individual interviews with campus leaders, and focus groups consisting of members of key departments, the role of resiliency was examined during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Emerging from the data were the four thematic categories of leadership, campus culture, engagement and interaction, and challenges. Key components in each category revealed the significance of resiliency of university leaders, faculty, and staff as …

Psychological Distress During The Covid-19 Pandemic In Nursing Students: A Mixed Methods Study, Mayantoinette Watson

Dissertations

During such an unprecedented time of the largest public health crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, nursing students are of the utmost concern regarding their psychological and physical well-being. Questions are emerging and circulating about what will happen to the nursing students and the long-term effects of the pandemic, especially now that hospitals are being overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases and patients as well as a significant need for nursing staff (Jividen, 2020). Expectations, demands, change, and the fear of the unknown during this unprecedented time can only contribute to the many stressors that accompany nursing students through laborious clinical and didactic courses …

Covid-19 & University Stakeholders: A Faculty Perspective, Torie Fowler

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate faculty member perceptions of job satisfaction, response efficacy, organizational communication efforts, along with organizational trust and goodwill in relation to the COVID-19 crisis. A cross-sectional survey was conducted, using faculty members employed at their institution of higher education during the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 academic years. A total of 285 responses were analyzed.

Results of this study suggest faculty member perceptions of job satisfaction and response efficacy were significant in predicting perceptions of trust and goodwill. The most significant predictor of organizational trust and goodwill was perceptions of organizational communication efforts. Also, this …

Examining Online Fitness Program Participation Behavior During The Covid-19 Pandemic: An Application Of Theory Of Planned Behavior, Ran Wei

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine fitness participants’ online fitness program (OFP) participation intention and behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study utilized self-administered online survey which included three parts: Theory of Planed Behavior (TPB) measurement scale and Global Physical Activity Questionnaire version 2.0 (GPAQ-v2.0) plus demographic information. TPB was used to examine OFP participation behavior with four variables: Attitude toward the behavior (AB), subjective norm (SN), perceived behavioral control (PBC), and participation intention (PI). Role identity (RI) and past behavior (PB) were included as additional variables in the original TPB model. Fitness participants’ OFP participation behavior before …

Should We Wear A Mask? Household Assessment Of Mask Wearing For Covid-19 In Ya’An, China, Leonard Peterson

Dissertations

In late 2019 and 2020, the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus spread worldwide and resulted in the COVID-19 pandemic, the second deadliest pandemic in modern history since the 1918 influenza pandemic. Since the virus was novel, no therapeutics and vaccines existed. Effective implementation of non-pharmaceutical interventions was essential to reducing the transmission of the disease until the discovery of effective therapeutics and vaccines. This study explores the influence of the facilitating protective action attribute on adopting mask-wearing as a protective action in Ya’an, Sichuan Province, China. The study found that perceptions of mask effectiveness to reduce the probability of contracting and spreading …

Examining Media Dependency And Parasocial Relationship On Protective Action Behaviors During Covid-19, Amy Hyman

Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic illuminated the significant role that mass media plays in disseminating messages to the public during disasters and public health crises. Information disseminated during a disaster influences individuals’ decision-making process regarding protective actions, or mitigation behaviors. This study examined the relationship between media dependency theory, parasocial relationship, and media effects (cognitive, affective and behavioral) during the COVID-19 pandemic. A quantitative approach was used with a convenience sample. The sample focused on residents in the state of Arkansas and specific generational cohorts. The results found that the generational cohorts had different media preferences during the height of …

Thriving In Student Affairs Professionals: An Exploration Of Supporting Constructs, Shawn Brodie, Phillip Campbell, Gretchen Day Fricke, Kawanna Leggett, Norris Manning

Dissertations

Student affairs professionals provide vital services to college students while also facing various challenges that impact their ability to thrive at work. This study examined overall thriving, its constructs and a set of predictors that impact thriving in student affairs professionals. Seligman’s (PERMA) theory of thriving provided the conceptual foundation for this study. Understanding the constructs that support thriving for student affairs professionals will help institutional leaders and professional organizations develop work environments and strategies that promote thriving. A global pandemic occurred during the time of this research, allowing exploration of how COVID-19 impacted thriving. This study also included variables …

County Youth Athletics Response To Covid-19 Pandemic, Elise Schaller

Dissertations

Problem: To ensure safe participation in youth athletics and prevent COVID-19 transmission during the COVID-19 pandemic, St. Louis County Department of Public Health (DPH) implemented Youth Sports Guidelines on October 14, 2020. This project aimed to identify level of adherence to precautions listed in the guidelines at six county public high school athletic events.

Methods: An observational descriptive study design was used to monitor guideline adherence at high school athletic events. Two observers tallied violations by participants and spectators to Youth Sports Guidelines at St. Louis County public high school athletic events. Six high-frequency contact (basketball and wrestling) events …

Impact Of Social Isolation In Hiv-Positive Individuals During A Pandemic, Corina Jane Bakoylis

Dissertations

Problem: The global pandemic of COVID-19 caused concern for immunocompromised individuals. The purpose of this quality improvement initiative was to assess the impact of social isolation on feelings of loneliness, depression, and social isolation experiences in HIV-positive individuals residing in a long-term care facility.

Methods: A mixed-method convergent design with a purposeful sample of HIV-positive adult residents residing in a long-term care facility was utilized. An evaluation of loneliness using the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Loneliness Scale (Version 3) and depression using the Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8) were completed. Personal experiences were also assessed with five predetermined open-ended …

Identification Of Veterans Experiencing Symptoms Of Mental Illness For The First Time After Covid-19 Diagnosis, Brittania Phillips

Dissertations

There has been a general increase in psychiatric symptoms since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Literature that has been published since the start of the pandemic has indicated there is an increased risk of depression, insomnia, altered mental status, new-onset psychosis, neurocognitive syndrome, and anxiety. The military veteran population is at higher risk for psychiatric illness than the general population, and should be screened accordingly. This quality improvement project was developed in collaboration with the mental health clinic at urban medical center in the Midwest to identify new symptoms of mental illness after COVID-19 diagnosis utilizing the PDSA model and descriptive …

Mental Health Concerns Of Frontline Registered Nurses Associated With The Covid-19 Pandemic, Julie Ingle

Dissertations

Problem

COVID-19 caused local healthcare facilities to admit patients with COVID-19 at increasing rates, critically overloading healthcare system resources. Caregiver-related stress associated with the COVID-19 pandemic placed frontline registered nurses (RNs) at risk for mental health consequences (Havlioglu & Demir, 2020; Shechter et al.,2020).

Methods

This quality improvement project used a descriptive design to administer a collection of validated instruments assessing anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and demographics. A purposive sample of RNs were recruited from the COVID-19 units in a local hospital, and the survey was distributed via email.

Results

During the implementation period (April 4, 2021-May 15, …

Youth Sports In A Pandemic Age, Robert Bohnert

Dissertations

Abstract

Problem: Youth sporting events is a public health concern as infected youth with coronavirus disease 2019 may unknowingly spread the virus, as many show little to no symptoms (Zimmerman & Nigel, 2020). This project aimed to identify level of adherence to posted Youth Sports Guidelines, which were designed to mitigate the spread of virus at youth sporting events.

Methods: An observational descriptive design was utilized. Two observers tallied guideline violations by participants and spectators at six high-contact (basketball) and six low-contact (swimming) public high school youth sporting events.

Results: A total of 726 youth sport participants and 139 …

Mental Health Effects Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Older Adults, Elizabeth Kerr

Dissertations

Problem: Significant psychological effects such as anxiety, depression, stress, and loneliness are shown to affect the older adult population, aged 65 years and older. The social isolation and disconnectedness related to the COVID-19 pandemic potentially worsens anxious and depressive feelings, increasing the risk for adverse outcomes in the high-risk older adult population. This project aimed to identify older adults at risk for acute, situational mental health issues associated with the pandemic.

Methods: A descriptive study design was used. Telephone interviews were conducted to explore effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health responses in older adults. A convenience sample …