Digital Commons Network^™

Personal Disruption Strategies Used By K-12 Female Superintendents For Career Advancement, Tricia Thompson

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this explanatory mixed methods study was to identify and describe the perceived impact of W. Johnson and Mohr’s (2019) five disruptive career skills on female K-12 superintendents from an elementary background to their advancement to an executive leadership position. Methodology: This explanatory mixed methods study identified and described the experiences of eight female K-12 Superintendents from California in the area of personal disruption strategies. Respondents were purposively chosen based on specific criteria and recommendations of an expert panel of experts. Data were collected, mean scores were tabulated, and themes were formed with regard to the five …

Acknowledging The Perceived Clinical Practicum Experiences Of Nursing Students To Identify Clinical Accommodations To Mitigate Respective Clinical Anxiety, Cherlynn D. Hill

Dissertations

Anxiety is an emotion that can interfere with the academic performance, health, and prosperity of nursing students. Understanding the experiences as perceived by the student may assist in uncovering the underlying causes of clinical practicum induced anxiety to facilitate further research for appropriate interventions that may help students mitigate their anxiety. This qualitative study used a hermeneutic, phenomenological approach to explore the lived experiences of nursing students who experience significant anxiety regarding clinical practicum rotations. The findings from this study resulted in the overall theme, Am I Really Meant for Nursing? Four subthemes derived from this overall theme were (1) …

Lost In Interpretation: The Lived Experience Of Nurse Interpreters In The Clinical Setting, Byron Batz

Dissertations

The use of language interpreters in the health care setting constitutes a vital part of provider-patient communication but remains a relatively unexplored phenomenon. Registered nurses (RNs) are often called upon to serve as interpreters when linguistically diverse patients constitute a large segment of the patient population. That RNs serve simultaneously in an interpreter role – in addition to clinical and advocacy roles – is a complex facet of contemporary nursing practice in a diverse U.S. culture. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to examine the lived experience of RNs serving as interpreters in health care institutions in Southern …

Cultural Microaggressions In Multinational Organizations: Organizational Inclusivity And Employee Coping Strategies, Regina Mcwilliams

Dissertations

Cultural microaggressions are especially problematic in multinational organizations because of the sheer and vast diversity of employees, customers, and partners across numerous countries and continents. These subtly discriminatory remarks or actions often lead to negative consequences that can cost companies immeasurable revenue and profit losses, customer and employee attrition, and brand reputational damage. This study aims to understand the impact of cultural microaggressions on job outcomes and the moderating effects of inclusivity practices and employee coping strategies. We draw upon the minority stress model and use quantitative methods to determine the relationship between cultural microaggressions and various job outcomes. Findings …

The Public Muse In Congress: The Punctuation Of American Federal Arts Policy, Elizabeth Deichmann

Dissertations

In 1989, American federal arts policy changed suddenly and drastically when the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) gained unprecedented attention in Congress for controversial grant awards that supported two visual artists. Prior to this, federal arts policy was an insulated subsystem run by experts applying high art aesthetic standards to grantmaking. Informed by punctuated-equilibrium theory (PET), this investigation of congressional rhetoric shows that Republican policy entrepreneurs during this time effectively set a new, more negative tone about federal arts policy by harnessing conservative culture wars messages. The change in tone preceded federal arts policy’s arrival on the broader congressional …

The Effect Of Moral Distress On Nursing Retention In The Acute Care Setting, Cynthia L. Cummings

Dissertations

This descriptive study explored the relationship between moral distress, professional stress and intent to stay in the hospital setting. The study involved 234 nursing participants and was conducted via an online survey over a 90 day period. The survey tool consisted of 51 items taken from known moral distress, professional stress and intent to stay tools. The items were divided into frequency and intensity of occurrence. Various statistical measures were utilized to conclude that moral distress and professional stress factors were significant (p

The results confirmed that there was a correlation between moral distress and professional stress with regard to …

المستقبل القانوني لتكنولوجيا التطبيب عن بعد, إيمان محمد الكلباني

Dissertations

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The Legal Future Of Telemedicine Technology

Over the past few years, the field of information and communication technologies (ICT) has experienced remarkable advancements that have brought about significant revolutions in various aspects of public life. One notable area that has been greatly influenced by these advancements is telemedicine. Telemedicine has had a profound impact on interpersonal relationships and the supply of medical services in both developed areas and remote. What sets telemedicine apart from traditional hospital healthcare is its ability to bridge the gap between doctors and patients without the need for physical proximity. However, the implementation of telemedicine …

The Relationship Between Startups’ Early Adoption Of Digital Platforms And Startups’ Pre-Money Valuation, Bader Hassan Faqeeh

Dissertations

The objective of this study was to explore whether there was a significant positive relationship between startups’ early adoption of the digital platforms, namely, 1) mobile application, 2) a premium domain name website, and 3) the existence of active startup social media accounts, and startups’ pre-money valuation. To achieve this objective, this research used a relatively novel method in entrepreneurial research to collect data, whereby LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator was used along with an automation tool in order to send hundreds of automated connection and message requests to investors on LinkedIn who were sent a copy of the survey questions along …

The Role Of School–Community Collaboration In The Inclusive Education Practices Concerning Students With Special Educational Needs In Public And Private Schools In Abu Dhabi, Hamdah Jibar

Dissertations

Strong school-community partnership has been found to play a critical role in the implementation of inclusive education. This dissertation investigates the multifaceted role of school–community collaboration in inclusive education (IE) practices for students with special educational needs (SENs) in Abu Dhabi’s public and private schools in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Over the past two decades, the UAE government has intensified its efforts to enhance the realm of special education, aiming to improve Students with SEN’s social, cognitive, and academic outcomes. National attention to these practices aligns with the broader aspiration to establish an inclusive and equitable society. In UAE, …

Assessing Preschool Children In Uae: Development Of The Preschool Autism Checklist (Pac) For Teachers, Omniah Gharib Alqahtani

Dissertations

This study aims to develop a new assessment tool for teachers to recognize and evaluate early signs of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in preschool children in the UAE. The study also discussed the cultural characteristics of the Gulf region and their impact on ASD. The available ASD instruments may be unclear in language and difficult to understand for regular teachers. However, a Preschool Autism Checklist (PAC) has been developed that is specifically tailored to the sociocultural norms of the Arab Gulf Countries. The ASD symptoms were taken from the DSM-5 (APA, 2013) as a reference source, while ASD scales incorporated …

Control Methods For Maximizing Power Absorption And Grid Integration In Point Absorber Wave Energy Converters, Abdin Yousif Elamin

Dissertations

Wave energy is an emerging renewable energy source with great potential attributable to its consistent availability and high energy density. Technologies responsible for harnessing this form of energy are referred to as wave energy converters (WECs), among which point absorbers (PAs) are a notable subcategory. Unfortunately, the unpredictable and variable nature of waves, coupled with their complex hydrodynamics, has hindered PAs from achieving maximum wave energy absorption. Moreover, the inherent variability in wave energy leads to fluctuations in the power output of PAs. These power fluctuations pose challenges for grid integration, which requires power quality compatible with grid code standards. …

Mixed-Method Study Of Relationship Satisfaction Among African American Males With Or Without History Of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Sandra Webster Brown

Dissertations

Relationship satisfaction among African American males is an important and feasible topic and underrepresented among scholarly literature. The purpose of this study was to explore relationship satisfaction and experiences among African American males who may be impacted by history of childhood sexual abuse. The study was guided by the theoretical frameworks of family systems theory. Using a concurrent mixed-methods triangulation design, the researcher collected data quantitatively and qualitatively from an online survey. Data were collected from 43 African American males recruited from Black organizations in the United States. The qualitative data collected by written narratives from the men were used …

A Comparative Analysis Of Demographic And Academic Characteristics And Nclex-Rn Passing Among Urban And Rural Campus Students In A Midwest Associate Degree Nursing Program, Kathleen J. Nacos-Burds

Dissertations

A retrospective study was initiated to determine: (1) the predictive relationship between demographic and academic variables and NCLEX-RN success; and (2) if there were significant differences between urban and rural nursing students that could account for an increased percentage of rural NCLEX-RN failures. A convenience sample was comprised of 398 graduates in 2005-2008, of an associate degree nursing program in the Midwest. Student age group, campus enrolled, Anatomy and Physiology GPA, number of practical nursing terms attempted, Practical Nursing GPA, and the number of associate degree nursing terms attempted were analyzed for predictive value of first-attempt NCLEX-RN success.

Assessing Small And Medium Enterprises’ Innovation Capabilities Within A Rapid Economic Transformation: An Empirical Study In Saudi Arabia, Mohanad Jabreel Aboudayah

Dissertations

The theory of dynamic capability posits that environmental uncertainty and organizational flexibility drive the growth of innovation capability at the firm level. Environmental uncertainty is the inability of the firm to quickly and accurately forecast changes in economic conditions. Building innovation capability can mitigate environmental uncertainty and enable the firm to gain a competitive advantage by innovating continually in response to evolving circumstances. Organizational flexibility, a key element of the firm’s managerial capabilities, is necessary but not sufficient to attenuate environmental uncertainty. Organizational flexibility enables the firm to identify and assess emerging opportunities, but pursuing those opportunities requires innovation capability. …

A Novel Multi-Model Patient Similarity Network Driven By Federated Data Quality And Resource Profiling, Alramzana Nujum Navaz

Dissertations

Smart and Connected Health (SCH) is revolutionizing healthcare by leveraging extensive healthcare data for precise, personalized medicine. At its core, SCH relies on the concept of patient similarity, which involves the comparative analysis of newly encountered patients with those who exhibit comparable similarities from the existing patient cohort. Yet, this approach faces significant challenges, including data heterogeneity and dimensionality. Our research introduces a multi-dimensional Patient Similarity Network (PSN) Fusion model tailored to handle both static and dynamic features. The static data analysis focuses on extracting contextual information using Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT), while dynamic features are captured through …

First Principles Investigation Of Energy Harvesting Materials For Green Environment, Mehreen Javed

Dissertations

The cutting-edge research of materials enables the discovery of novel energy harvesting materials. In this project the structural, electronic, magnetic, thermodynamic, thermoelectric, and optical properties of different energy harvesting materials are studied. The main objective of this work is primarily to study thermoelectrically efficient half-heuslers and photovoltaically active perovskites. Variant schematics of innovative compounds with defect introduction are investigated. The compositionally altered compounds designed by introducing crystallographic defects in terms of substitutional or interstitial dopants, offer new trends of material properties. To accomplish the task, Density Functional theory based computational packages (VASP and Wein2K) are used. Using defect and strain …

2d Materials For Gas Sensors, Biosensors, Photonic, Energy And Information Storage Devices: Dft Study, Wadha Khalifa Al Falasi

Dissertations

2D materials exhibit tremendous properties, such as their tunable band gap, high surface to volume ratio, appropriate carrier mobility, and large Spin-Orbit Coupling, making them promising candidate for applications in optoelectronics, information storage, energy storage, toxic gas sensing, and biomarkers detection. My thesis focuses mainly on Transition Metal Di chalcogenide Monolayers (TMDs ML) for all previously mentioned applications and Mxene (Ti₃C₂T_x) for Lung Cancer (LC) biomarker detection. We have utilized two DFT-based packages: (i) VASP, based on plane-wave basis set, and is worldwide most reliable for probing the electronic and magnetic properties; (ii) ATK, …

Intelligent Computation Offloading In Edge And Cloud Internet Of Vehicles System, Huned Yusufbhai Materwala

Dissertations

The emergence of Internet of Vehicles technology through Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks represents a promising development in the realm of smart city. It empowers the development of smart city applications with a primary focus on improving traffic safety, optimizing traffic flow, and enhancing the overall driving experience. These applications come with demanding quality of service requirements outlined in Service Level Agreements (SLAs). They are communication-intensive, requiring a real-time response, and computation-intensive, demanding high processing. Due to inherent limitations in the computational and storage capacities of vehicles, the system relies on offloading application requests to edge and cloud computing infrastructures. However, the …

Restricted Powers, Special-Purpose Districts, And Path Dependence: Economic Graveyards In Downstate Illinois, Bethany Behrhorst

Dissertations

Property taxation in the United States is a critical issue warranting examination because it involves the directed distribution of government costs and benefits for citizens. The central question exists: Why are Illinois’ property taxes so high? Path dependence was explored as a theory to explain Illinois’ property tax reliance issues, asserting that as local governmental units in the State face budget limitations, they find alternative revenue streams. For example, restricted powers could lead to the development of quasi-governments, which are known as special-purpose districts. In such cases, once general-purpose municipalities charter a course by creating special-purpose districts, it is difficult …

Student Retention Through Decision Making And Withdrawal: The Importance Of Course Scheduling In Higher Education, Danielle Faucett

Dissertations

Student retention is a fundamental issue in higher education, with student decision-making and withdrawal at the forefront of examining that issue. Previous research has shown that personal factors are not easily addressed, but institutional factors, such as the course scheduling process, can be modified. This research study examined how the course schedule can influence degree-seeking students at a state-funded, 4-year institution by exploring the correlation between class standing and the importance of how courses are scheduled, the correlation between class standing and the ability to register for a required course, and what factors predict a student’s decision to withdraw from …

The Influence Of Attachment Styles And Mental Health Symptoms On Marital Satisfaction Among Deployed Us Army Soldiers, Leo Mora

Dissertations

Since 2002, changes in the frequency, duration, and nature of military campaigns overseas have piqued efforts to understand the effects of deployment on the mental health of DoD service members, especially married Army soldiers. However, few studies have examined the influence of attachment styles on the emotional health of combat veterans and the wartime impact they have also imparted to their spouses. Thus, in the context of military deployments, this study examines how secure/insecure attachment styles, posttraumatic stress (PTS), and depressive symptoms significantly influence married soldiers and their perceptions of marital satisfaction. In addition, this study also examines pre-existent, internalized, …

A Narrative Analysis Of Spiritual Coping In Individuals With Terminal Heart Failure, Clayton C. Clark

Dissertations

Approximately 6 million Americans have heart failure with treatment costs estimated at $30.7 billion annually. Those in late stages of the disease experience profound physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering. Spiritual wellbeing has been linked to quality of life as well as mental and physical health in patients with heart failure. While holistic nursing care promotes spiritual coping, barriers exist. Currently, nursing lacks theory to explain spiritual coping processes in patients with heart failure, which leaves nurses ill-equipped to promote spiritual wellbeing in providing care to patients. In this study, I employed open-ended interviewing and narrative analysis techniques to gain a …

Beyond Prognosis Communication: Exploring The Existential Dimensions Of Palliative Care Conversations With Adults With Advanced Cancer, Elise C. Tarbi

Dissertations

Communication about prognosis is integral to effective palliative care. However, prognosis communication often entails considering mortality, which can trigger existential questions. We understand very little about how existential experience is communicated in palliative care conversations. To fill this gap, this dissertation addresses the following aims: (1) Clarify the concept of the existential experience within the context of adults with advanced cancer (Chapter 2); (2) Describe how patients, families, and clinicians communicate about existential experience in palliative care conversations (Chapter 3); and (3) Explore the intersection between prognosis communication and existential dimensions of conversation (Chapter 4).

The Lived Experience Of Afghan Women Refugees In Three Metropolitan Areas Of The Southeastern Us: A Phenomenological Study, Brenda Brown

Dissertations

The global refugee crisis has reached epic proportions. Statistics from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR, 2016) reported that in 2015 a record 65.3 million people worldwide, or 39,976 people per day, were displaced, either within their native countries or as asylees and refugees. Afghanistan, from 1980-2014, was the country with the largest number of outgoing refugees and it now ranks third in the world. At the opposite end of the continuum the United States remains the primary host country for refugees, asylees, and resettled refugees from all countries, including Afghanistan. The refugee experience is fraught with challenges …

The Caregiver Of The Child With Cerebral Palsy: The Unnoticed Victim, Taylor Tusinski

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to better understand the overall quality of life (QoL) in the primary caregiver who provides care to the child or adolescent, aged 0-17 with mild, moderate, or severe Cerebral Palsy (CP). This study aligned with a nonexperimental or observational design and examined the severity level of CP and the QoL in the mother and/or father.

For research question 1, regression results indicated that the overall model did not significantly predict the mother’s and father’s QoL [R² = .000, R² _adj = -.012, F(1,80) = .003, p = .957]. Regression results indicated that …

Perceptions Of Teaching Effectiveness Of Part-Time And Full-Time Clinical Nursing Faculty Of Bsn Education, Kimberly L. De Santis

Dissertations

The United States faces a critical shortage of full-time registered nurses, which is directly affected by the shortage of nurse educators. Many schools of nursing are already seeing the impact as qualified program applicants are being turned away due to the lack of qualified educators available to teach them. The trend has become to employ increasing numbers of part-time faculty who have a clinical focus in their education. There is much debate about the clinical teaching effectiveness of part-time faculty. One way to assess quality of education is to assess teacher effectiveness. The purpose of this quantitative, descriptive, study was …

Using Natural Language Processing To Evaluate Electronic Health Records Of Patients With Ovarian Cancer For Documentation Of Goals Of Care, Hillarie Elizabeth Joehl

Dissertations

Growing evidence supports the benefits of serious illness communication including goals of care (GOC) discussions and documentation in the electronic health record (EHR). Patients who discuss end-of-life (EOL) care with their clinicians are more likely to have positive outcomes including better-reported quality of life, less distress, and a higher likelihood of receiving care consistent with their preferences. Limited research suggests only a small fraction of ovarian cancer patients have such discussions with their clinicians. Using a novel natural language processing (NLP) methodology, this retrospective and descriptive study explores EHRs for patients with ovarian cancer to characterize documentation of GOC. Using …

What’S Medical School Got To Do With It?: Health Professionals And Medical Education In Maternal Health Disparities, Skky Martin

Dissertations

A plethora of research exists on maternal health disparities, highlighting both its variation across ethnoracial identity and causes of it. Similarly, much research exists on the professional socialization of medical students. However, there is a lack of research that bridges the two seemingly disparate literature together. Maternal health outcomes are greatly influenced by doctor-patient interactions. During medical school, medical students learn what it means to be a physician and how to interact with patients. A key component of the professional socialization of medical students is the medical school curriculum, including both pre-clinical courses and clerkships. It is through the curriculum …

The Ethics Of Advance Care Planning, Ciaran Folliard Rhys

Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic subjected millions of Americans to alienated deaths in institutional settings. Given that the default response to health crises is to go to the Emergency Department, isolation protocol limited the care and support ill and potentially dying people could receive at the bedside. Crisis standards of care also cut off meaningful discussions of end of life care preferences. Communication barriers regarding end of life care existed well before the pandemic, however. This dissertation proposes a new approach to the concept of Advance Care Planning (ACP), or the process of deciding what kinds of care one would prefer in …

The Effectiveness Of A Camp-Based Intervention To Promote Health-Related And Social Functioning In First Time Campers With Spina Bifida, Elicia C. Wartman

Dissertations

Objective: Previous research suggests that tailored summer camp programs for youth with specific medical conditions, such as spina bifida (SB), may help campers improve independence and medical self-management skills. The evidence-based Independence Intervention at Camp Independence is geared towards enhancing the medical self-management skills and social skills of youth with SB, with the goal of improving their independence (O'Mahar et al., 2010). The present study aimed to evaluate the impact of the Independence Intervention at Camp Independence on first-time and veteran campers. This study aimed to (1) explore similarities and differences in first-time and veteran campers on demographics, health-related self-management …