Digital Commons Network^™

Virtual Learning To Enhance Non-Technical Nursing Skills: A Basic Qualitative Study, Nicole Murtagh

Dissertations

Nurse educators are currently facing restraints of limited space, time, availability, conflicting schedules, and increased demands on in-person learning experiences. Due to these restraints, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the rapid technological increase, nursing educators have been tasked with incorporating virtual learning opportunities into traditionally in-person programs. There is a gap in the literature on the faculty experiences of teaching non-technical skills in a virtual environment. This basic qualitative study aimed to explore the experiences of nursing faculty in the state who have incorporated education activities into their virtual learning classroom to improve nursing students' non-technical skills.

Relationship Of Vulnerability To Coercive Control And Intimate Partner Violence (Ipv) Among Latinas, Susan D. Watson

Dissertations

IPV is the most common cause of violence-related injury to women in the United States and greater than one-third of all female homicide victims in the U.S. were killed by the victims' husband or partner. Nationally, intimate partner violence (IPV) has been identified as a public health issue, and internationally gender inequality is the number one human rights issue. In addition to risk factors identified among multicultural samples, characteristics that increase Latina vulnerability to IPV may relate to the specific cultural scripts between partners that are expected and supported within Latino culture.

From Childhood Through Adulthood To Godhood: Trodding The African Ancestral Path To Become A Shining Star Of Ourstory, Salim Kenyatta

Dissertations

This autoethnographic narrative examines the importance of conceiving and sharing liberating stories, and participating in independent communal training processes that advance young African American males' psychosocial and mental development. To bring my analyses to light, I applied the foundational frameworks of African Worldview and Critical Race Theory to my research to uncover many of the influences that helped me evolve from boyhood (nescient) to manhood (laborer) and later to Godhood (master who is in union with all).

Employing the autoethnographic methodology enabled me to share key points in my educational journey, which propelled my transformation. This contemplative engagement was a …

High Leverage Professional Development Topics That Support The Retention Of Special Educators, Meggan Lokken

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to determine how experienced special education teachers rate and describe the importance of professional development topics identified as high leverage practices in special education by Council for Exceptional Children and CEEDAR Center at helping them perform their teaching jobs, and to determine how the ratings of the different groups (preschool, elementary, middle, high school, and adult transition grade level ranges) compare to one another.

Methodology: The current study is a mixed-method descriptive comparative design, utilizing both quantitative and qualitative survey methodology. A quantitative approach will be used to rate experienced special educator’s …

Using Imagery Practice To Improve Airline Pilot Situational Awareness, Brian Christopher Sajdak

Dissertations

Pilot error remains the primary cause of airline airplane accidents (Federal Aviation Administration, n.d.). Airline pilots have relied on Crew Resource Management and Threat Error Management to reduce or eliminate errors (Helmreich & Foushee, 2019). Unfortunately, the worldwide accident rate continues to increase (International Air Transport Association, 2021), demonstrating the need for further research into improving aviation safety. Current regulations do not require imagery training for airline pilots to improve situational awareness (Federal Aviation Administration, 2017a). Athletes and other professionals, such as musicians and medical professionals, use imagery to improve performance (Munzert et al., 2009). Imagery practice may improve the …

Affective Commitment, Mentoring, And Anticipated Turnover Among Millennials, Keiasha Hypolite

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Millennials comprise the largest group of individuals in the workforce, yet organizations struggle to keep millennials engaged in the workplace. Millennials move from job to job, with an average stay at one employer between 12 and 18 months (Hechl, 2017). Researchers have reported that millennials cause the majority of turnover in the workplace. Globally, human resources practitioners experience difficulties retaining millennials (Sahraee et al., 2021). Previous studies have researched millennials, affective commitment, mentoring, and turnover. However, no known research has used all four factors to solve a global problem. In their discussion of the highly competitive labor market, Ramírez …

Connecting Social And Ecological Systems In Small-Scale Fisheries In The Philippines, Sara Eisler Marriott

Dissertations

Nearly 50% of all marine fish capture in the Philippines is from artisanal fisheries, most of which is un- or under-reported. As in many emerging nations around the world, the Philippines cannot fully address overfishing by managing only half of the catch that comes from commercial fisheries. Marine reserves are a popular governance strategy for conservation and of growing interest for fisheries management. Many marine reserves in the Philippines, however, are not considered effective. In 2014, Rare, an international NGO, implemented a community-based management program to increase the effectiveness of the marine reserves, and while it found biomass increased, there …

Post-Racism As Ideology: Character Construction And Placement, & Narrative Structure In Dear White People, Mphatso Kaufulu

Dissertations

My project looks at post-racism as ideology. Through my chosen text – the Netflix streamed television series called Dear White People – I examine the ways in which post-racism is persists through representational abstractions which reformulate race as largely sets of interpersonal and intercultural, person-to-person social problems rather that a more general condition rooted in institutional or structural social, political and economic arrangements which organize society and produce its cultural dispensation.

To do this, I applied some of Stuart Hall’s ideas – on identity, ideology and commodification – and Bonilla-Silva – specifically in the area of obfuscations or abstractions of …

The Speech-Language Pathologist & Emotional Labor, Stress, And Compassion Fatigue, Patricia Martin

Dissertations

Employees in service professions often utilize emotional labor strategies. The purpose of this quantitative study was to evaluate speech-language pathologists’ (SLPs) experiences regarding emotional labor and the extent to which emotional labor is possibly related to job stress, compassion satisfaction, and compassion fatigue. This study also considered the SLPs’ occupational settings in relationship to emotional labor.

A pilot study was conducted and minor revisions were made to the instrument prior to the final study. The researcher collected and analyzed data using an online survey comprised of three validated instruments, ELS, SLPSI, and ProQOL-5. The participants were 270 certified speech-language pathologists …

Social Media Usage And Self-Esteem: The Moderating Role Of Media Literacy, Comparison Tendency, And User Motivation, Feng Li

Dissertations

Studies on Facebook and Twitter have shown that social media usage negatively influences individuals’ self-esteem. Many scholars believe media literacy could help reduce this negative impact. Social comparison tendencies and user motivations may also influence this dynamic. The current study is designed to test the moderation effects of media literacy, comparison tendency, and user motivation influencing WeChat Moments usage on individuals’ self-esteem. A group of Chinese college students (N= 299) participated in an online survey. Results show no negative association between WeChat Moments usage and self-esteem. Media literacy only negatively moderates this effect among those who reported having 20-50 friends. …

Note-Taking In College Mathematics: An Examination Of The Effectiveness Of Guided Notes And Interactive Notebooks On Student Achievement In College Algebra, Verlonda Neal

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate how the use of interactive guided notes influences the mathematical performance of college algebra students when solving univariate linear equations. The research involved 68 students enrolled in College Algebra at a community college. The participants were divided into two groups: those who took notes using an interactive guided notes method and those who did not use the interactive guided notes note-taking method to cite instructional information. The participants were administered a test on solving univariate linear equations before and after receiving instruction to answer the research questions posed by the study. An …

Haramed And Dangerous: A Thematic Examination Of Muslim Women’S Representation In We Are Lady Parts, Reham Bohamad

Dissertations

Since the early days of Western media, Muslim women have been portrayed in a negative way. From belly dancers to oil-rich horny sheikhs to voiceless passive wives of terrorists. This image has led the Western spectator to associate Islam and the Muslim women’s headscarf (Hijab) with backwardness, extremism, and oppression. In recent years, there has been a positive shift towards a more inclusive and authentic representation of Muslim women. This shift is the result of the post-network era which provides on-demand media outlets that challenge the dominant hegemonic production system and provide diverse and inclusive images that cater to niche …

A Critical Analysis Of Political And Media Discourse On Immigration During The Trump Era, Daleana Phillips

Dissertations

This research examines political and media discourse on Immigration through four studies: Trump’s immigration reform speech, newspaper coverage of DACA, a Saturday Night Live episode, and social media via #ColoradoBorderWall memes. Various critical cultural theoretical frameworks are used within critical discourse and textual analysis is to examine media and political rhetoric about immigrants and immigration policy during a period of drastic institutional political change evidenced by Trump’s administration. As a collective, these narratives examine how Trump’s rhetoric and populist style of communication demonstrate a return to restrictive immigration rhetoric not witnessed in a presidential administration since the 1920s. This research …

An Examination Of Teachers’, Instructional Support Staff, And Administrators’ Attitudes And Beliefs Concerning Data, Data-Driven Decision-Making And Its Relationship To Student Achievement., Lashandra Antionette Hodge-Mcclure

Dissertations

The Every Student Succeeds Act has an accountability model that holds the educational system in the United States accountable. It was decided that students throughout the United States should be held to the same standards, independent of where they lived. Furthermore, the Every Student Succeeds Act seeks to provide considerable opportunity for all students to obtain a fair, equitable, and high-quality education and reduce academic performance disparities. The study aims to identify the role teachers, instructional support staff, and administrators’ attitudes and beliefs regarding data-driven decision-making plays in student achievement.

Data-driven decision-making is the systematic process of gathering, evaluating, and …

An Exploration Of Faculty-To-Faculty Bullying In Nursing Education: The Prevalence, Who Is Bullying Whom, And Intent To Leave, Pamela Kemp

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This study, drawn from a nationwide sample with 1,407 responses, examines faculty-to-faculty bullying and incivility in nursing education. It assesses the prevalence of bullying and incivility within the organization, identifies the most commonly occurring bullying behaviors, and identifies and ranks the most frequently occurring uncivil workplace behaviors. The study also examines the relationship between bullying, incivility, and intent to leave the organization.

Research tools include the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (NAQ-R), the Workplace Incivility/Civility Scale (WICS), and the Turnover Intention Scale-6 (TIS 6). The analysis includes an evaluation of significant differences in which faculty members are targets of bullying or …

The Impact Of A Culturally Responsive Approach In Science Education On Kindergarten Students, Monique Hite-Patterson

Dissertations

Classrooms today are more ethnically and linguistically diverse. Unfortunately, students of color demonstrate a history of marginalized educational inequities (Williamson et al., 2007). These marginalized educational inequities impact academic achievement across all content areas especially literacy, math, and science. To improve the academic performance of students who are culturally, racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse, methods of instruction and pedagogy that better facilitate learning among diverse student populations must be instituted (Ladson-Billings, 2005). A mixed methods study was conducted in response to the need to examine the impact of using culturally responsive strategies on kindergarten student’s attitudes towards science and their …

Weight Change In College Freshmen: Personal, Interpersonal And Situational Influences, Kristin L. Kuhlmann

Dissertations

Obesity has become the most significant noninfectious health risk in the United States, and the major causes of death and disability are shifting to chronic, non-communicable health conditions that are largely attributable to physical inactivity, overweight and obesity, and other diet-related factors. Among children and adolescents, the overweight/obesity rate is approaching 32%, with 17.9% of adolescents becoming obese. While the obesity rate has doubled in all age groups in the United States, it has tripled among young adults aged 18 to 28 years, and 70% of adolescents who are at a healthy weight will become overweight or obese as adults. …

The Experience Of Pediatric Intensive Care Nurses Caring For Dying Children, Rebecca L. Meyer

Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to explore the experience of pediatric nurses caring for dying children. An estimated 55,000 children die every year in the United States and another 400,000 live with life-threatening or life-limiting conditions requiring them to be admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). Nurses who work in this area may have unexplored information and knowledge about the experience itself which could contribute to a better understanding of caring to the nursing profession. Watson's Theory of Human Caring was selected as the framework for the study.

Interprofessional Role Clarification Among Licensed Health Care Practitioners In Rural And Smaller Community Hospitals, Dianne E. Allen

Dissertations

Enhancement of healthcare systems has increased the demand for healthcare practitioners (HCPs) to share client care by functioning in a variety of roles within interprofessional teams. When these roles are integrated into team practice, the outcome can be collaborative sharing of client care responsibilities but without sharing, team members can experience uncertainty as to what their contributions should be. Understanding this shift in practice begins with role clarification, whereby HCPs have self-awareness about their own roles, and then gain an understanding of the roles of others in their collaborative practitioner groupings. Interprofessional role clarification (IPRC) is thought to be necessary …

A Quantitative Study Of Moral Distress In Vha Nurses, Mary E. Kelly

Dissertations

Ethical issues continue to be an important aspect in the practice of professional nursing. The complexities of nursing practice begin in nursing school and continue throughout a nurse's career. Advances in health-care technology, emphasis on cost-effectiveness, and higher acuity level patients in hospitals lead to ethical conflicts and a phenomenon known as moral distress. Moral distress constitutes a serious problem in nursing practice. Studies regarding moral distress correlate the phenomenon to nurse turnover, intent to leave, burnout, job dissatisfaction, and stress. Moral distress differs from experiencing an ethical dilemma in that moral distress is the inability to do what one …

When Nurse-Teachers Become Ill: A Narrative Inquiry Into The Personal Illness Experiences Of Three Nurse-Teachers, Jasna K. Schwind

Dissertations

In this inquiry I explore how a personal serious illness of three nurse-teachers impacts their teaching and nursing practice. My interest in illness stories emerges in response to my own experience of becoming a patient thirteen years ago. As a result of this circumstance I became curious to learn how other nurse-teachers may experience personal illness events. To help me think about my puzzle I chose Connelly and Clandinin's narrative inquiry, where narrative is both the method and the phenomenon of study. In this research my two co-participants and I talk about what it is like for a person, who …

The Effects Of Lecture Capture Design On Student Performance In An Online, Asynchronous Nonmajors Biology Course, Melissa Ann Gutierrez

Dissertations

Lecture capture technology, the ability to provide multimedia recordings of instructional content, has become an essential technology for online learning. One of the ways online courses have tried to appeal to the digital lifestyle of today’s students is providing different lecture capture styles, such as audio (podcasts), video, or interactive videos, due to the popularity of mobile media players providing anytime and anywhere learning. Although lecture capture technology provides educators with a diverse set of tools on how content is delivered, studies have shown mixed results on the impact of lecture capture styles on learning.

For this study, the main …

A Study On Vivian Fine’S Chamber Concerto For Cello And Six Instruments, Andrea Beltran Landers

Dissertations

The music of American composer Vivian Fine (1913-2000) has fallen into obscurity despite its high quality. Her musical career has led her from being a child-prodigy at the piano to being a part of the elite inner circle of avant-garde composers in New York in the early 1930s, and ultimately to a faculty position at Bennington College in the 1960s. Due to the stability and job security that the academic world brought to Fine, she was able to dedicate most of her time to composition. The Chamber Concerto for Cello and Six Instruments belongs to this fruitful period in her …

Faculty Perception Of The Impact Of Covid-19: A Descriptive Case Study Analysis, Traci Pooler

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to get an understanding of college faculty experiences and perceptions of student learning outcomes during forced virtual instruction in the spring 2020 semester. The study was limited to faculty who taught at one of the 18 member institutions of the Association of Kentucky Colleges and Universities (AIKCU). Factors such as the discipline being taught were considered. Other factors considered were faculty experience with virtual instruction, the availability of technology for faculty and students, and the support provided to students and faculty amid the transition to virtual instruction. The survey reviewed responses from each AIKCU …

Agreement Of Psychiatric Diagnoses Within And Between Groups Of Mental Health Clinicians From Different Disciplines, Wade Mcguire

Dissertations

The development of therapy as a treatment option for mental health problems has led to the creation of different disciplines. Each discipline has developed its own conceptualization of classification and treatment of mental health problems. These conceptualizations have led to different areas of focus for each of the disciplines, specifically counseling, psychology, and social work. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether these areas of focus influence how each discipline diagnoses. For this study, data was collected by having clinicians provide diagnoses for three fictitious clients. The vignettes for the clients were taken from a psychopathology textbook to …

The Effects Of Personalized Learning On Student Achievement, Keile Phillips

Dissertations

Although many studies have been conducted on personalized learning strategies, teacher attitudes and perceptions, and student engagement, few studies have focused on personalized learning and its impact on student achievement when compared to the traditional classroom. The purpose of this study was to determine if personalized learning increased student achievement in three school districts by analyzing student assessments for three consecutive school years. The study utilized data from three school districts located in Western Kentucky for the 2016-2017, 2017-2018, and 2018-2019 school years. The data were collected from Renaissance Learning for math and reading. In addition to examining the students’ …

An Improvement Science Approach To Understanding Adaptive Leadership As A Tool For Diabetes Educators To Teach Patient Self-Efficacy, Allie Carter

Dissertations

Background: Worldwide diabetes is estimated at 415 million, and that number is expected to increase to 642 million by 2040 (Roberts et al., 2017). Certified Diabetes Care and Educational Specialists (CDCES) and other health care providers strive to teach patients with diabetes skills that assist them in developing and maintaining self-efficacy. Current education methods are not always enough to help a patient navigate effects of their diabetes. Using the adaptive leadership principles can provide educators an interventional practice that facilitates patient self-management. This study explores the effectiveness of adaptive leadership when applied to the diabetes education delivery and confirms the …

Administrative Leaders' Viewpoints About The Significance Of Art Education In Schools, Jennifer Luckett

Dissertations

The value of art education and people’s perspective of its value have been subjects of research throughout the years. Art programs are usually the first to be eliminated when there are budget cuts in the public-school systems. This study examines policy, history, and teachers’, parents’, and students’ viewpoints of the value of art education. It also analyzes the researched value that an art education provides. As there is little to no research on administrative leaders’ viewpoints, this research study utilized Q-methodology to determine administrators’ viewpoints on their personal value of art education. The main goal of this research was to …

Technology Integration In School-Based Physical Activity, Taemin Ha

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand the current practice of technology use for physical activity promotion in K-12 schools in the United States by conducting two studies. Using a quantitative research design, study one aimed to identify the current practice of technology use in school-based physical activity promotion. Study two investigated what attributes contribute to the use of technology in schools for physical activity facilitation and promotion. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods study design was used for study two, and Rogers’ (2003) diffusion of innovations theory served this study as a theoretical framework. A total of 367 registered Active …

A Double-Edged Sword: Lived Experiences Of Hispanic/ Latino Nursing Students Who Speak English As An Additional Language, Esmeralda Araceli Clark

Dissertations

As the population of the United States continues to become more diverse, the nursing profession is working toward diversifying its nursing workforce. Diversification of the nursing profession is linked to improved patient outcomes and culturally competent care. The experiences of minority nursing students with English as an additional language (EAL) have been studied including some interventional studies. Still, there is a gap in exploring the experiences of Hispanic/Latino nursing students with EAL. The literature described EAL as the most significant risk factor for non-acceptance into a Bachelor of Science in Nursing program for any group of otherwise qualified applicants. Since …