Digital Commons Network^™

Major Trauma Outcomes: At What Cost? And For Whom? A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis, A. Elaine Bond Dnsc, Msn, Aprn, Ccrn

Dissertations

The purpose of this triangulated descriptive study was threefold: (a) to identify the financial costs for acute trauma care, including costs for those who die early in treatment, and who pays those costs; (b) to identify the relationship between costs and severity of injury; and (c) to identify survivor functional and psychosocial costs, or quality of life, not only by current health care outcome criteria, but also from patients' and families' perspectives. Retrospective review determined the financial differences (total charges of $9,945,973 and institutional costs of $7,089,962) for 370 patients' severity of injury and functional outcomes at discharge, using the …

Being Alone: The Experience Of Elderly Homebound Females, Sharon Davis Burt Dnsc, Msn, Rn

Dissertations

Elderly women comprise one of the fastest growing segments of the population in the United States. This growth is due in large part to increasing longevity, and a woman's life expectancy has now reached 79 years. However, along with those added years comes an increase in morbidity and a greater likelihood of living alone. This study describes the life experience of a specific group of elderly women, those who are homebound and living alone. When elderly women are included in research, the same combination of descriptors used for the participants in this study has not been incorporated. Consequently, while much …

The Journey Through Perspective Transformation: Learning Nursing Theory, Judith R. Heggie Dnsc, Ms, Rn

Dissertations

Through the use of grounded theory, educational methods most useful for nurses to achieve a perspective transformation, as exemplified by learning nursing theory were examined. Perspective transformation is a theory originally developed by Mezirow (1978) in a study of older women returning to college for additional education. Mezirow defined perspective transformation as the alteration or change of meaning perspectives. Perspective transformation in an individual can be compared to a paradigm change within a scientific community. Within the nursing literature on perspective transformation, most articles related to the perspective transformation needed for nurses to learn to use nursing theory as the …

The Experience Of Decision-Making Among Telephone Advice/Triage Nurses, Ann Mayo Dnsc, Msn, Rn

Dissertations

The role of the telephone advice/triage nurse is both complex and demanding. All decisions are made while assessing patients without seeing or touching patients. In addition, the role is often developed to decrease health care costs which can be perceived by nurses as being in conflict with their nursing beliefs. The ambiguous nature of the role makes these nurses' daily experiences with decision-making a challenge. Using a phenomenological method, the lived experience of decision-making among telephone advice/triage nurses was explored by conducting multiple interviews with ten nurses. The internal structure of the lived experience was identified through the philosophical perspective …

Reflections Of Reflections Of Reflections: A Multi-Case Study Of Women Educators' Callings To The High Arctic, Judith Knapp Edd

Dissertations

This study examines the stories of six women educators who were called to teach in remote Aboriginal communities in the Northwest Territories, Canada, from 1970 to 1985. Placed within a historical context, I set out to understand what called each educator to teach in a cultural context so different from her own in Canada's Arctic. In order to arrive at a deeper, more intrinsic understanding of her career decisions, I explored each educators calling through three, increasingly deeper levels of reflection. In Reflections, as “in an instance of reflecting,” I explored each participant's call to teach, specifically her calling to …

The Relationship Of Saudi Managers’ Characteristics And Their Support Of The Transfer Of Training To The Workplace, Khalid M. Alhazmi

Dissertations

Many HRD professionals have pointed out that one of the most important elements for transfer of training to the workplace is management support. However, there is little discussion concerning management characteristics that support the transfer of training to the workplace. The purpose of this study was to investigate management characteristics that inhibit or promote the transfer of training to the workplace and to provide information regarding those characteristics to companies.

This study focused on one main question: Do management characteristics have an effect on management support of the transfer of training to the workplace? To answer this question, a study …

The Role Of Ethnicity Among International Students In Adjustment To Acculturative Stress, Mohd. Tajudin Hj Ninggal

Dissertations

This study examined whether there were differences in six acculturative stress themes among three Malaysian ethnic groups who were enrolled at Western Michigan University during the Fall, 1997 semester. The study also investigated whether the following demographic attributes: (a) gender, (b) academic major, (c) financial sponsorship, (d) family socioeconomic status, (e) type of residential setting, and (f) scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) affected Malaysian students in relation to the six acculturative stress themes: (1) Perceived Discrimination, (2) Homesickness, (3) Perceived Hate, (4) Fear, (5) Culture Shock, and (6) Guilt.

A total of 138 respondents …

A Study Of Local-Cosmopolitan Orientation With A University Support Staff, Sharon Carr

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to identify the local-cosmopolitan orientation of a subset of university support staff members and to examine the relationship between that orientation and (a) gender, (b) age, (c) years of service, (d) percentage of business/financial tasks in one’s job, (e) percentage of time spent in direct contact with students, and (f) the self-perception of how essential one’s job is to the mission of the university. The local-cosmopolitan concept used was based on the definition by Qouldner (1957) and includes his three elements: loyalty, operational style, and reference group use. Each one of these elements, as …

Visitor In A Foreign Land: Reflections On Intercultural Adjustment In The Republic Of Armenia, Jerry L. Johnson

Dissertations

This first person, autobiographical account of one American citizen’s nine-week experience covering two years in the Republic of Armenia answers the question, aIs it possible to become resocialized in a foreign culture?’ Employing the experimental writing method called personal experience narrative, the author uses personal journal accounts and autobiographical stories as primary data to demonstrate his movement from ’modem tourist’ (MacCannell, 1976; 1992) to resocialized individual and provide a rich and detailed description of the Armenian homeland undergoing significant social changes after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

This study offers a model of socialization called ’life-learning’ to …

Direct Service Staff's Perceptions Of Psychotropic Medication In Noninstitutional Settings For Individuals With Developmental Disabilities, Leeann Christian

Dissertations

Approximately 35-55% of individuals with mental retardation who live in the community are prescribed psychotropic and/or antiepileptic medication (Aman, Saphare, & Burrows, 1995; Singh, Guernsey, & Ellis, 1992). As more individuals with severe behavior challenges are transitioned from institutions into the community, these rates are likely to increase. Given these prevalence rates, it is important to determine whether staff who serve people with mental retardation are adequately educated about psychotropic medications. Previous studies (Aman, Singh, & White, 1987; Gadow, 1983; Singh, Epstein, Stout, Luebke, & Ellis, 1994; Singh et al., 1996) surveyed a variety of service providers in school and …

African-American Females And The Glass Ceiling In The Defense Logistics Agency, Velma Lee Clay

Dissertations

This study explores the career advancement experiences of African American women who have successfully broken through the glass ceiling. The term “glass ceiling” refers to artificial or invisible barriers based on attitudinal or organizational bias that prevent qualified women and minorities from advancing into senior-level management positions. Studies have confirmed that a glass ceiling does exist for African American women and that they are severely underrepresented in top level government jobs, they have less opportunity for advancement, and both gender and race are perceived as factors in their limited representation (MSPB 1992).

What is the Impact of Breaking the Glass …

Groundwater Hydraulics And Slope Stability Analysis: Elements For Prediction Of Shoreline Recession, William W. Montgomery

Dissertations

Studies documenting the roles that geologic materials and groundwater play in Great Lakes bluff recession are rare. This study reports findings concerning relationships between bluff lithology, bluff hydrology, and bluff recession along a 10-mile stretch of eastern Lake Michigan shoreline in heterogeneous Pleistocene deposes. According to a newly-developed, field-tested, GIS-based methodology, bluffs in the study area can be characterized lithologically as sand, clay, or mixed sand/clay, and can be characterized hydrologically as exhibiting either high head or low head.

Geotechnical analysis indicates that Atterberg limits, index properties, consolidation state, and drainage conditions affect the shear strength of bluff materials. Silty …

Implications Of Changing To 4 By 4 Semester Block Scheduling For Secondary Students With Learning Disabilities, Sandra Kay Wayne

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of changing from a traditional schedule to a block schedule on selected school-related behaviors and measures of secondary students with learning disabilities and their regular education teachers. Areas of impact that were addressed included school performance measures of student success rates, attendance rates, and discipline referrals as well as affective measures of levels of students' active engagement in learning activities, the variety of teaching and learning modes used, and the amount of individualized teacher attention given to students.

The research population consisted of six high schools in south and central …

An Analysis Of Fecal Coliform Bacteria As A Water Quality Indicator, Janet Heyl Vail

Dissertations

The focus of this study is to assess the efficacy of fecal coliform bacteria as a microbiological water quality indicator. The scientific and educational context of fecal coliform bacteria is explored through analysis of large sets of water quality data, focused field monitoring projects, and review of commonly used resources for school-based and volunteer water-related studies. Analyzed data sets include long term sampling (10 years), multiple sites, daily samples, storm event samples, and other parameters monitored in parallel with bacteria. Special attention is given to data sets from Kent County, Michigan. A background reference site in Michigan unimpacted by humans …

The Relationship Between Leadership/Followership In Staff Nurses And Employment Setting, Elaine S. Vandoren

Dissertations

This study tested the hypothesis that staff nurses in hospitals used different leadership and followership behaviors than staff nurses in home care settings. Leadership behaviors were measured using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (Bass, 1995); followership was measured using Kelley’s Followership Style Questionnaire (1992). Three hospital and home care agencies belonging to a private nonprofit corporation in the Midwest provided data. A total of 136 surveys were used in data analysis; 57% of distributed surveys were returned.

Differences between the hospital and home care staff nurses were not found. Self-perception, difficulty in applying clinical behaviors to the MLQ, unknown aspects of …

Observing The Spirit Of Resilience: The Relationship Between Life Experiences And Success In Higher Education For African-American Students, Cheryl Getz Edd

Dissertations

Some African American students with challenging early life experiences appear vulnerable to failure in higher education. This vulnerability may be exacerbated when educators fail to recognize the relationship between the life experiences of African American students and their academic performance and college success. African American students are challenged further as they attempt to successfully adjust to collegiate environments which often do not validate them or their experiences. The primary purpose of this study is to investigate this challenge with selected African American students, to learn about how the life experiences of African American students can enhance their success in higher …

The Role Of The Site Facilitator In The New Directions In Distance Learning Project, Isabel Ries Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand the roles and responsibilities of site facilitators in successful New Directions in Distance Learning (NDDL) project school sites, to learn with whom site facilitators communicate within and outside their working environments, and to discover with whom they build working relationships. E-mail questionnaires and two sets of telephone interviews generated the research data from six site facilitators and three teacher-mentors who worked at eight New Directions in Distance Learning (NDDL) school sites located throughout British Columbia. Indicators of success for an NDDL site included participation in the NDDL project with minimal technical difficulties …

Ethnographic Inquiry Of Social Support Throughout Women's Labor And Childbirth Experiences, Nancy Jane Pinder Saks Dnsc, Msn, Rn

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the phenomenon of social support throughout labor and childbirth in order to develop descriptive theory based on the behaviors of the labor and childbirth convoy. Utilizing ethnographic methodology, five women and their support convoys were observed throughout the women's labor and childbirth experience. Word processing and the ETHNOGRAPH software were used for data management, and constant comparative coding methodology was employed for data analysis. Affirmative, affective and aid-giving behaviors were enacted by all convoy members. Consistently, social support was found to be communicated to the laboring woman by her lay supporters by …

Performance Analysis Of The Interference Adaptation Dynamic Channel Allocation Technique In Wireless Communication Networks, Ziqiang Xu

Dissertations

Dynamic channel allocation (DCA) problem is one of the major research topics in the wireless networking area. The purpose of this technique is to relieve the contradiction between the increasing traffic load in wireless networks and the limited bandwidth resource across the air interface. The challenge of this problem comes from the following facts: a) even the basic DCA problem is shown to be NP-complete (none polynomial complete); b) the size of the state space of the problem is very large; and c) any practical DCA algorithm should run in real-time.

Many heuristic DCA schemes have been proposed in the …

Orthogonal Transmultiplexers : Extensions To Digital Subscriber Line (Dsl) Communications, Xueming Lin

Dissertations

An orthogonal transmultiplexer which unifies multirate filter bank theory and communications theory is investigated in this dissertation. Various extensions of the orthogonal transmultiplexer techniques have been made for digital subscriber line communication applications.

It is shown that the theoretical performance bounds of single carrier modulation based transceivers and multicarrier modulation based transceivers are the same under the same operational conditions. Single carrier based transceiver systems such as Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) and Carrierless Amplitude and Phase (CAP) modulation scheme, multicarrier based transceiver systems such as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) or Discrete Multi Tone (DMT) and Discrete Subband (Wavelet) Multicarrier …

Enhanced Terahertz Pulse Generation And Detection Using Electric Field Singularities In Photo-Conducting Antennas, Yi Cai

Dissertations

In recent years, generation of ultra-short electromagnetic pulses with frequency components in the terahertz (THz) range has been achieved by various techniques. Among those different methods, photo-conducting antennas have proven to be the most efficient source of THz radiation. THz spectrometers utilizing such photo-conducting antennas as transmitters and receivers are meanwhile routinely used for spectroscopic studies in the frequency regime between 0.1 to 5THz, which can be covered by neither conventional optical nor microwave spectrometers. However, THz emission power from the existing photo-conducting antenna is not sufficient for many applications (such as electro-optic sampling for real time THz detection and …

A Model For Travel Mode Switching, Lei Cao

Dissertations

Transportation policy research assesses the effect of policy changes such as the imposition of a parking charge or the augmentation of passenger rail service, on individual travel behavior. Over the last few decades, Conditional Lo it Model has been strongly advocated among discrete choice models for transportation policy study due to its ease of estimation and realistic outcomes.

This dissertation analyzes the necessity of the entry of constraints in the indirect utility function. These functions are used in discrete choice models and form the basis for travel demand modeling. This dissertation proposes a hypothesis that the explicit entry of constraints …

Decentralized Reliable Control For Large-Scale Lti Systems, Zhengfang Chen

Dissertations

Reliable control concerns the ability of closed loop system to maintain stability and regulation properties during arbitrary sensor, controller, and actuator failure. Reliable control research has been an active research topic for more than 10 years.

Recent approach for reliable control includes the H∞ method, the algebraic factorization design, and the robust servomechanism control. These methods have been surveyed and discussed in this thesis with the robust servomechanism control methodology serving as the basis of the research development of this work.

In this thesis, the reliable control for large-scale, multi-input/output linear system is considered. Two concepts of reliable control …

Cantilever Beam Microactuators With Electrothermal And Electrostatic Drive, Murat M. Okyar

Dissertations

Microfabrication provides a powerful tool for batch processing and miniaturization of mechanical systems into dimensional domain not accessible easily by conventional machining. CMOS IC process compatible design is definitely a big plus because of tremendous know-how in IC technologies, commercially available standard IC processes for a reasonable price, and future integration of microma-chined mechanical systems and integrated circuits. Magnetically, electrostatically and thermally driven microactuators have been reported previously. These actuators have applications in many fields from optics to robotics and biomedical engineering.

At NJIT cleanroom, mono or multimorph microactuators have been fabricated using CMOS compatible process. In design and fabrication …

Micro Electromechanical Relays And Their Application In Variable Inductor Networks, Shifang Zhou

Dissertations

A family of microrelay devices together with integrated inductor networks has been designed, simulated, fabricated and experimental characterized. These switched networks utilize microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) as a fabrication technology and take advantage of the economies of semiconductor cleanroom batch-processing.

A new type of microrelay has been developed using a suspended TaSi₂/SiO₂ bimorph cantilever beam, gold-to-gold electrical contact, aluminum as sacrificial layer, and a combined thermal and electrostatic means of actuation. For the first time a micro variable inductor network which is digitally controlled by microrelays has been demonstrated. A test structure for electrical micro contact characterization has …

Numerical Study Of Three-Dimensional Free Convection From Semi-Enclosed Geometry And Discontinuous Heat Sources, Aklilu T.G. Giorges

Dissertations

Three-dimensional natural convection from three-by-three array of isoflux heat sources mounted on one vertical wall of semi-enclosed region has been numerically investigated. Detailed thermal information of this important engineering configuration is currently not available. The major objective of this study was to obtain this needed thermal and velocity information.

The semi-enclosed geometry can be viewed as a thin rectangular region with four closed and two open sides. The open surfaces are located at the top and adjacent side. For the fluid air, Pr = 0.71, the study covered a heat flux based Rayleigh number (Ra) range of (10² ≤ …

Health Ministry In The Life Of A Congregation With A Parish Nurse: Caring And Connecting Through Christ, Mary Ann Chase-Ziolek

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Three Parts Of Babylon : Teaching A Historicist Interpretation Of The Leopardlike, Lamblike And Scarlet Beasts (Rev 13 And 16:19 As Reflected In Rev 17) Based Upon The Douglas Waterhouse Construct, William C. Taggart

Dissertations

Problem. In the field of religious education, a need exists for a broad teaching strategy through which the biblical three parts of Babylon (Rev 16:19) and the visual imagery of apocalyptic Babylon (Rev 13 and 17) might be taught effectively within the historicist tradition. This study was designed to present a teaching strategy based upon the historicist apocalyptic three-part construct developed principally by Douglas Waterhouse.

The Theoretical Organizing Principle of Geographic Relationships. The concept that helped guide and bring together this study was the understanding that Rev 17 is based on personification which were well known in the …

Confronting First Nations Cultural Genocide: Showcasing Perspective Of Cree Elders For Identity And Leadership Renewal, Phyllis S.A. Cardinal Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to gain insight on the effects of cultural genocide through the lens of selected Cree elders in Alberta, Canada. The study enlisted the elders' perspective on the legacy of cultural genocide, and its residue. This process enabled the elders to offer views about Cree identity, and suggest a leadership perspective for continued cultural renewal. The study applied a Lockean theory to the attack on Natural Law to explain the genocide. The study also explained the way Locke's ideas may have contributed to the earlier federal policies that have subordinated the Cree, and to the …

A Theoretical Perspective Of Factors That Relate To The Functional Independence Of Mature Adults, Richard N. Ashden Edd,Dc

Dissertations

Limitations of policy makers and health care providers understanding about living conditions in later adulthood continually constrains mature adults from doing more for themselves, and society. These circumstances move society to devalue mature adults. Less valued mature adults tend to become even more dependent, that is, increasingly less willing to care for themselves, and less able to contribute to the social good. As a result, a vicious cycle was created, and it caused mature adults to live lower quality lives, and become increasingly dependent on others. To empower mature adults in later life, this study does the preliminary work to …