Digital Commons Network^™

Safe Opioid Prescribing Through Proper Screening, Joelle M. Carson

Dissertations

It is known in today's healthcare that opioid abuse is on the rise in the United States. The project site noted aberrant behaviors and the seeking of narcotics from certain clients in the occupational health clinic. The purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental quality improvement project was to determine if the implementation of Webster's Opioid Risk Tool (ORT) would impact the number of opioid prescriptions written for acute pain among patients seen an occupational health clinic in central Indiana over four-weeks. The theoretical frameworks utilized in the project included Skinner's behaviorist theory, Bandura's social cognitive theory, and Orem's self-care deficit theory. …

Educating College Students About Human Papillomavirus, Pamela Bryant

Dissertations

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the US affecting almost 60% of college women ages 20 to 24 years. At one west coast community college, two thirds of males and half of females were unaware of HPV vaccine recommendation through age 26 years.

This aim of this project is to determine if an evidence-based online educational video about HPV and HPV vaccine would increase knowledge of HPV and intent to receive the vaccine among community college students enrolled in urban and suburban community colleges in Southern California. Measured outcomes of interest included HPV knowledge …

The Effect Of Pedagogical Agent Persona On Performance, Self-Efficacy, And Attitudes In Adult Learners In An Online Environment, Justin L. Mathews

Dissertations

Pedagogical agents, virtual avatars that are often included in online training or educational modules, have been studied in a variety of disciplines to determine the extent to which their inclusion in online or multimedia learning environments may influence both cognitive and affective outcomes in learners. The present study examined the effect of a peer-like pedagogical agent providing motivational messaging in an online English language learning environment to determine if the agent will positively affect college students’ performance, self-efficacy, and attitude in comparison to a control group. All participants studied an online, self-paced English grammar module, either with (treatment version) or …

From Alsace To America: The Development And Migration Of Ashkenazi Jewish Cuisine From Its Origins In Eastern France, Angela Hanratty

Dissertations

This research examines the historical development of a distinctly Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine from its roots in the Alsace region of France, through the Jewish settlements in Eastern Europe, and the mass immigration to America in the 19th and 20th centuries. The aim of the research was to come to an understanding of how global perception of what is considered to be quintessentially Jewish food (as evidenced in American Jewish delicatessens, Jewish homes, and in popular culture) has been shaped by developments in Alsace. Long standing views were held that Ashkenazi food developed in Eastern Europe, specifically Poland and the former …

Adapting Independent Reading For The Virtual Classroom, Ellen J. Foley

Dissertations

There is no doubt that the 2020-2021 school year was an unprecedented one. Around the world, COVID-19 school closures forced teachers to change their instructional practices with very little time, preparation, or guidance. While frustrating and challenging, experiences from this particular school year provide unique insight into pedagogical adaptations from in-person contexts to virtual ones.

This qualitative, grounded theory study examines the experiences of six secondary English Language Arts (ELA) teachers and their adaptations of independent reading pedagogies for their virtual classrooms during the 2020-2021 COVID-19-impacted school year. Independent reading is a practice that depends on proximal classroom factors including …

Development Of A Decision Support System For Sustainable Water Planning In Abu Dhabi, Uae, Mohamed Ibrahim Kizhisseri

Dissertations

One of the main challenges for water managers is to foresee the future accurately; then, design appropriate policies and infrastructure plans accordingly. The use of decision support systems in the field of water resource management and planning is now widely implemented, but its use in sustainable water planning of a nation or state in arid and semi-arid areas, such as Middle East countries, remains limited. The main objective of this dissertation is to present a graphical software tool that can assist water planners and decision-makers in long-term water management and planning. Sustainable planning for Abu Dhabi’s future water supply is …

The Role Of Nutrient Sensitive Protein O-Glcnacylation In Developmental Cortical Neurogenesis, Shama Parween

Dissertations

The nutrient responsive O-GlcNAcylation is a dynamic, posttranslational protein modification present on many nucleocytoplasmic and mitochondrial proteins. Previous research has indicated that hyperglycaemia increases the levels of total O-GlcNAcylation within cells. Transcription factors and histones are among hundreds of proteins that have been reported to be O-GlcNAcylated and have importance in cell fate determination during cell growth, proliferation, and differentiation. However, the role of protein O-GlcNAcylation in epigenome control in response to nutritional perturbations is poorly understood. Hyperglycaemia induced protein O-GlcNAcylation have been linked to several pathologies, including obesity, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. …

Chemical And Biological Control Of Canker Disease Of Delonix Regia Caused By The Fungus Neoscytalidium Dimidiatum, Seham Mohammed Al Raish

Dissertations

In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), royal poinciana (Delonix regia) trees suffer from stem canker disease. Symptoms of stem canker can be characterized by branch and leaf dryness, bark lesions, discoloration of xylem tissues, longitudinal wood necrosis and extensive gumming. General dieback signs were also observed leading to complete defoliation of leaves and ultimately death of trees in advanced stages. The fungus, Neoscytalidium dimidiatum DSM 109897, was consistently recovered from diseased royal poinciana tissues; this was confirmed by the molecular, structural and morphological studies. Phylogenetic analyses of the translation elongation factor 1-a (TEF1-α) of N. dimidiatum from the …

Insights Into The Packaging Of Mouse Mammary Tumor Virus (Mmtv) Genomic Rna By Identifying Pr77ᴳᴬᴳ Binding Sites Involved During Its Selective Encapsidation, Akhil Chameettachal

Dissertations

Selective encapsidation and/or packaging of retroviral genomic RNA (gRNA) by Gag during retrovirus assembly is a crucial step for generating infectious virus particles. Despite having been studied extensively, the mechanism by which the retroviral Gag precursor selects and packages the retroviral genome remains largely unclear. Therefore, to understand the molecular mechanism(s) of mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) gRNA packaging, as a first step, expression of full-length recombinant Pr77^Gag -His6-tag fusion protein in bacteria was done. The recombinant Gag protein was then purified from the soluble fractions of bacterial cultures using immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) and size exclusion chromatography …

Epigenetic Modifications In Metabolic Syndrome: Identification And Evaluation Of Early Indicators Using A Rodent Model System, Ashok Daniel Pragasam

Dissertations

It is increasingly realized that mechanisms of developmental plasticity rather than pathology independently facilitate the size of developing embryos during early development. Changes in the early developmental environment alter the metabolic traits resulting in diseases, including metabolic syndrome, including type 2 diabetes and obesity in adulthood. Molecular and epidemiological studies have documented an association between Lower Birth Weight (LBW) and increased risk of developing metabolic syndrome. Henceforth, using birth weight as a marker, two groups of normal birth weight range rat pups, Lower Birth Weight (LBW, 5th to 25th percentile) and Average Birth Weight (ABW, 50th to 75th percentile) as …

Exposure And Handling Practices Of Healthcare Professionals For Cytotoxic Drugs In The Workplace Environment, Laila Masoud Al Alawi

Dissertations

Introduction: Occupational exposure to cytotoxic drugs is associated with various unfavorable health outcomes. There is currently no safe level for occupational exposure to cytotoxic agents. Healthcare workers’ adherence to cytotoxics control measures is of primary importance to minimize the risk from exposure to these agents.

Aims: To develop a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis on environmental assessment of cytotoxic drugs in healthcare settings and conduct an environmental assessment study of cytotoxic drugs in two Oncology centers of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). In addition to evaluate pharmacists’ and nurses’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) towards handling of …

How Are Women Farmers "Doing" And "Undoing" Gender?: An Exploration Of Women's Gender Practices In Farming, Rebecca J. Tuxhorn

Dissertations

The number of women farmers in the US continues to grow even at a time when the number of men farmers is decreasing. But even as women are experiencing growing representation in this historically men-dominated occupation, they are more likely to operate smaller farm operations, own less land, and earn less than men farmers. Additionally, there are barriers to accessing the full farmer identity due to their invisibility in the largely patriarchal structure of agriculture. In this dissertation, I endeavor to learn more about how women farmers navigate the gendered structure of farming, including barriers to accessing occupation-related resources and …

The Making Of The Man’S Man: Stardom And The Cultural Politics Of Neoliberalism In Hindutva India, Soumik Pal

Dissertations

In this dissertation, I trace the contours of state control and capital in India, starting from the 1970s and see how the state’s increasingly centralizing tendencies and authoritarianism, in the service of capital, creates cultures of violence, fatalism, desperation, and ultimately, even more desire for authoritarianism. I study male stardom in Bombay cinema, beginning withAmitabh Bachchan (who was the reigning star in the 1970s and 80s), and following up with Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan (who have been successful stars from the early 90s), to understand how changing subjectivities, responding to changing socio-economic reality, were formulated and expressed through …

Flaxseed’S Paradoxical Role In Extending Lifespan And Reproductive Capacity In White Leghorn Laying Hens; And The Effect Of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (Pufas) On Lipid Metabolism, Mitochondrial Bioenergetics And E-Cadherin Expression In Laying Hen Ovarian Tumors, William Christopher Weston

Dissertations

We are the first lab to report the occurrence of a diet-induced transsulfuration (TS) blockade associating with elevated S-adenosylmethionine (i.e. SAM) synthesis, enhanced lifespan and enhanced reproductive capacity, in a vertebrate animal model. In this paradoxical study, we used LC-MS/MS-derived metabolomics data to report the effects of flaxseed (Linum Usitatissimum) on one-carbon metabolism in White Leghorn laying hens (Gallus gallus). Flaxseed contains a vitamin B6-antagonizing molecule called ‘linatine’ that is particularly effective at reducing vitamin B6 levels in small rodents and poultry. Linatine reduces TS flux through its inhibition of the vitamin B6-dependent enzymes cystathionine beta synthase (CBS) and cystathionine …

The Political Economy Of American Militarism: The Military- Industrial Complex, Power Elite, And The 2003 Invasion Of Iraq, Randy S. La Prairie

Dissertations

Sociologists have paid little attention to the structural causes of American participation in wars. Consequently, the discipline offers few theoretical perspectives on American war making. Sociological theories that do exist fall under two headings: state-centric and Marxist theories. Both lack prima facie plausibility. In this dissertation, I advance a unique, alternative theoretical framework that I argue offers a more tenable theory of American militarism in the post-World War II period. The elite model of war mobilization, as I refer to it, consists of five interrelated structural causes of American participation in wars: (1) state-capitalist imperialism; (2) elite control of public …

These Fish Were Made For Walking: Morphology And Walking Kinematics In Balitorid Loaches, Callie Hendricks Crawford

Dissertations

Terrestrial excursions have been observed in multiple lineages of marine and freshwater fishes. These ventures into the terrestrial environment may be used when fish are searching out new habitat during drought, escaping predation, laying eggs, or seeking food sources. The physiological demands for life under water and on land are vastly different and require different functional adaptations. Fish with terrestrial excursions must be capable of dealing with the stresses of both aquatic and terrestrial environments for varying periods of time. To deal with these stresses, amphibious fishes exhibit many morphological and behavioral adaptations. These adaptations have led to a range …

Methods For Extending Biomedical Reference Ontologies And Interface Terminologies For Ehrr Text Annotation, Vipina Kuttichi Keloth

Dissertations

Biomedical ontologies and terminologies are a cornerstone in various electronic health record systems (EHRs) for encoding information related to diseases, diagnoses, treatments, etc. Ontologies in general represent entities (concepts) and events along with all interdependent properties and relationships in an efficient way to facilitate easy access, retrieval and sharing. With the landscape of medicine rapidly changing, biomedical ontologies and terminologies need to rapidly evolve to support interoperability, medical coding, record keeping, and healthcare activities in general, and to facilitate interdisciplinary research. Extending ontologies by identifying new and missing concepts plays a vital role in the maintenance of ontologies to keep …

Intermittent Dynamics Of Dense Particulate Matter, Chao Cheng

Dissertations

Granular particle systems are scattered around the universe, and they can behave like solids when there exist strong force-bearing networks, so that the granular system can resist certain stress without deformation. When such a network is not present, particles yield to small stress and behave like a fluid. A wide range of systems exhibit intermittent dynamics as they are slowly loaded, with different dynamical regimes governing many industrial and natural phenomena. While a significant amount of research on exploring intermittent dynamics of granular systems has been carried out, not much is known about the connection between particle-scale response and the …

Development Of Deep Learning Neural Network For Ecological And Medical Images, Shaobo Liu

Dissertations

Deep learning in computer vision and image processing has attracted attentions from various fields including ecology and medical image. Ecologists are interested in finding an effective model structure to classify different species. Tradition deep learning model use a convolutional neural network, such as LeNet, AlexNet, VGG models, residual neural network, and inception models, are first used on classifying bee wing and butterfly datasets. However, insufficient data sample and unbalanced samples in each class have caused a poor accuracy. To make improvement the test accuracy, data augmentation and transfer learning are applied. Recently developed deep learning framework based on mathematical morphology …

Impact Of User Traversal On Performance Of Stem Learners In Immersive Virtual Environments, Eric W. Nersesian

Dissertations

The emerging technologies of augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) may have vast implications to societal communication and representation of information. AR/VR computer interfaces are unique in that they may be placed spatially around the user in three-dimensional (3D) space; this affords new methods of both presentation and user interaction with the target information.

This may be especially impactful in the education of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professionals. Prior research has shown that simulations and visualizations improve the performance of STEM learners compared to live instruction and textbook reading. Yet, research into AR/VR as a learning environment for widespread …

Private Sound Environments In Public Space: Use Of Headphones In Public Parks And Public Transit, Chathurthi S. De Silva

Dissertations

The use of headphones is now so commonplace that it is almost second nature for many people to use them. Not only do these people use headphones all the time, but they use them nearly everywhere, including in urban public spaces. In using headphones, people create their own “private sound environments” in public space. This phenomenon merits attention from researchers since the creation of private sound environments may well alter people’s experiences of public space.

This study answers five research questions about the use of headphones in parks and on transit: why people use them, when they begin using headphones …

Strategies For The Improvement Of Healthcare Through Simulation, Roger Lankheet

Dissertations

Title:Strategies for the improvement of healthcare through simulation

Background: Medical errors continue to plague the healthcare industry. The annual rates of morbidity are approximately 2.69 million (AHRQ, 2019), while mortality rates exceed 400,000 per annum (Makary & Daniel, 2016). There may be no panacea to combat these egregious rates. However, simulation of patient care events may better prepare healthcare professionals to prevent medical errors as it has been proven to be an effective learning strategy (Kirkham, 2018), enhancing skills while gaining experiential knowledge, without risk to actual patients.

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain a …

Exploring Food Traditions Within The Four Quarter Days Of The Irish Calendar Year, Caitríona Nic Philibín

Dissertations

This study explores food traditions in the four quarter days of the Irish calendar year. Imbolg or St. Brigid’s Day, Bealtaine, Lughnasa and Samhain mark significant moments in the agricultural calendar. Food traditions, customs and practices relating to these days are recorded in the abundant resources of the collections in the Folklore Department, University College Dublin. However, to date, with few exceptions, little food specific research has been carried out on these collections. This thesis aims to begin to fill that gap whilst highlighting many opportunities for further research. Throughout this process we witness the illumination of a rich food …

Subaltern Leadership Epistemologies: A Phenomenological Study Of Filipinx Administrative Leaders In Higher Education, Tricia Ryan

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the phenomenon of Filipinx American subaltern leadership epistemologies by unveiling participant life histories, alongside participant leadership approaches and practices carried-out in institutions of higher education in the Unites States. The unique experiences made available in this study provided for an emergence of critical examination into untapped narratives; valuable data from Filipinx voices who, in the research literature about Filipinx Americans, are cited as invisible in educational settings. In-depth qualitative phenomenological research utilizing a three-interview series approach was used to explore and charter the connections between lived experience and current leadership epistemologies for …

Expanding Consciousness Across Disruptions: Developmental Leadership Coaches Growing Together Through Action Inquiry, Ilaria Distefano

Dissertations

The planetary, societal, and personal challenges of our times call for the expansion of leaders’ consciousness. More comprehensive and integrated ways of making meaning of self and systems are required to navigate the current levels of complexity. Based on constructive-developmental theory, developmental leadership coaching supports leaders in this evolution.

The literature on developmental coaching converges on the relevance of the coach’s meaning-making to coaching outcomes and processes. The purpose of this study was to explore how seven developmental leadership coaches, including the researcher, could evolve their consciousness, capacities and skills using action inquiry. Seven meetings were held, and knowledge and …

Understanding The Benefits Of Experiential Learning For Executive Leader Development: A Mixed Methods Approach, Bruce Loveless

Dissertations

This study sought to understand the benefits of using experiential learning methods (such as outdoor activities) for executive leader development from the perspective of senior corporate, government, and nonprofit leaders. Increasingly, executive development programs are embracing “learning by doing” by incorporating experiential activities. Although most programs are influenced by developmental psychology (such as stage theory), this study integrated perspectives from adult, transformative, and experiential learning with common practices in outdoor adventure education into a new conceptual framework for experiential leader development with four types of experiences: intrapersonal, interpersonal, managerial, and environmental. This study fills a gap in research literature regarding …

The Lullaby As Art Song: Engaging Repertoire For Study And Performance, Carissa Scroggins

Dissertations

When selecting repertoire, teachers of singing do not often turn to lullabies. The consensus is they are too simple in melody, texture, and harmony to warrant attention. However, this commonly held view should be reconsidered because lullabies can offer dramatic text settings. Lullabies can be divided into two categories: those for practical use and those for performance. The latter are composed as art songs written from many perspectives. They can be nationalistic, violent, frustrated, funny, and can use sleep as a metaphor for the release of death. This wealth of subject matter and variety of styles and skill levels found …

The Effects Of Token Menu Manipulations On Token Demand, Sean Regnier

Dissertations

Token economies are systems of contingencies that are designed to reinforce targeted behavior. Engaging in a targeted behavior produces conditioned stimuli that can later be exchanged for established reinforcers. A back-up reinforcer is an established reinforcer that can be acquired by exchanging the tokens. A component of token economies that has received little attention in the literature is the composition of the set of back-up reinforcers available for exchange; typically referred to as the menu. When used as part of behavior therapy, the token menu often contains a set of items that has been identified by conducting a preference assessment …

Examining The Effects Of State Anger On Self-Reported Psychopathic Trait Inventories, Olivia C. Preston

Dissertations

Research indicates that experiencing anger is linked to social undesirability and temporarily induces a host of significant changes within an individual, such as hostile attribution bias, lower trust, increased impulsivity, poorer decision-making, and preferential recall. Such changes theoretically may inflate psychopathy scores due to a greater ability or willingness to endorse attitudes, behaviors, cognitions, and emotions that are regarded as reflective of psychopathic traits and may potentially introduce random error variance into measurement. Such distortion due to mood may bear important implications for applied settings where one individual’s scores are measured at a single time point, rather than research where …

Analysis Of A Rough-Toothed Dolphin (Steno Bredanensis) Introduction In A Human Care Setting, Lindsey Johnson

Dissertations

Rough-toothed dolphins are a rarely studied species of cetaceans found in temperate and tropical waters throughout the world. These dolphins live in fission-fusion societies and are highly social, swimming in tightly-packed and highly synchronized subgroups consisting of 2-10 individuals. The current study documents the introduction of a stranded calf into an existing population of six rough-toothed dolphins living in a human care setting. Specifically, recordings of vocal and non-vocal behaviors were analyzed across the four phases of the study: baseline, day of introduction, post-introduction, and follow-up. Whistles, a vocal signal associated with social contexts, increased from baseline to post-introduction phases …