Digital Commons Network^™

Perceived Social Support, Coping, And Psychological Distress In Advanced Cancer Patients, Adelaida Zabalegui

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which perceived social support and coping mechanisms contribute to explaining psychological distress in advanced cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. The Lazarus and Folkman stress and coping model (1984a) provided the framework.

Peripherally Inserted Central Catheters (Picc) And The Efficacy Of Tip Placement Confirmation With Ecg Ultrasound-Guided Technology And Chest Radiography, Elizabeth A. Morrell

Dissertations

The aim of this study was to appraise the efficacy of peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC) tip placement confirmation using a fully-integrated magnetic tracking system and ECG ultrasound-guided insertion technology performed at the patients' bedside by venous access nurses and validated by the post-insertion chest radiography (CXR) report. Labor costs and time were compared with the interventional radiology (IR) team and the venous access nurses to determine if there was a noteworthy cost difference with PICC insertions. PICCs have gained popularity due to improved ECG ultrasound-guided tip navigation technology. Real-time ECG ultrasound-guided technology is the safest, most accurate method of …

Maternal Attitudes, Feeding Practices And Child Weight-For-Length Percentiles: Maternal Participation Vs. Non-Participation In A Prenatal Infant Nutrition Education Session, Connie S. Lewis

Dissertations

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions nationally and internationally. All ages are affected resulting in physiological and psychological health consequences. Obesity-related habits that begin in childhood may continue into adulthood suggesting the need for developmentally targeted approaches. Efforts to reduce obesity should begin early in life with interventions targeting infants and young children. Is there a difference in infant feeding attitudes, the initiation of breastfeeding practice, the introduction of solid foods practice, and child weight-for-length percentiles at 12, 18, and 24 months between mothers who participated in a prenatal infant nutrition education session and mothers who did not participate? The purpose …

Community Schools In St. Louis Then And Now: Exploring The Influence Of Family, School, And Community Engagement On Student And Community Outcomes, Kimberly Ann Carothers

Dissertations

All children should have access to the American Dream by receiving a meaningful and equitable educational opportunity that prepares them to be successful in school and life thereafter. Today, many children are denied this dream over and over again. Minority and low-income children often face multiple barriers that stagnate their growth; resulting in equity and achievement gaps. Schools that implement the community schools strategy integrate resources and services from family, school, and community partners to prepare students for success in meeting the demands of the twenty-first century. Community schools are hubs with evening and weekend hours that bring together a …

Educators’ Perceptions Concerning The Leading Factors Of Mathematics Achievement In Top-Ranking Nations Around The World, Kendra Snow

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of post-secondary mathematics educators from countries considered to be highly successful in the area of mathematics based upon results of international assessments. Four instructors were randomly selected from a homogenous sample within the nations of Canada, China, Japan, and Singapore to contribute information about the phenomenon of mathematical achievement. Frameworks from SRI International (2009), Matthews (2013), and Schoenfeld (2014) were integrated to design this study focused on curriculum, pedagogy and instructional approach, teacher knowledge and expectations, and organizational and social climate as possible factors that support student mathematical proficiency. Interviews …

Leading For Excellence: Leadership Behaviors That Cultivate A High-Achieving School Environment, Kristen Belknap

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this explanatory mixed-methods study was to determine the degree of importance for the 12-step principles proposed by Harvey et al. (2014) to create a K–12 school environment that fosters high student achievement as perceived by public school elementary principals. A secondary purpose was to explore and describe the leadership strategies for implementing the 12-step principles proposed by Harvey et al. to create a K–12 school environment that fosters high student achievement as perceived by public school elementary principals.

Methodology: An explanatory mixed-methods study was completed to examine the degree of importance each of the 12 leadership …

A Comparative Analysis Of Student Achievement Of First Grade Students Using Fundations Vs. Heggerty And Words Their Way, Stephen Schwartz

Dissertations

The Orton Gillingham (OG) teaching method is commonly used in schools (Ritchey & Goeke, 2006, p. 172). However, there is little evidence to support the use of OG based reading programs to help students learn more effectively in tier 1, 2 and 3 settings (Ring, Avrit, & Black, 2017, p. 384). The researcher sought to shed light on the effectiveness of an OG based reading program in comparison to the use of Heggerty’s Phonemic Awareness Program and Words Their Way. The Investigator completed a study to shed light on the Fundations program. Fundations is an OG based reading program that …

The Impact Of Structural Supports On The Success Of Students Of Color In The K-16 Educational System, Brandis Jones, Sherry Holmes

Dissertations

Collective Abstract

This collective dissertation contains the efforts of two practitioners in the field of education who possess a shared vision for designing student experiences with the mission of preparing all students for success in secondary and post-secondary education. The researchers believed that by creating structural supports for students in underserved populations, these same students will increase their educational attainment and access to long-term career opportunities. With successful completion of postsecondary education and with increased career opportunities, students can improve their lives, their families’ lives and the lives of members of their community.

Many students struggled on their educational journeys …

A Comparative Study Analyzing Undergraduate Internship Participation And The Impact On Retention And Timely Degree Completion At A Four-Year, Private, Midwest Institution, Stefani Schuette

Dissertations

Declining enrollments, rising costs and increasing student debt have caused college administrators, potential students, and outside stakeholders to focus on certain student outcomes, including retention and timely degree completion. Colleges and universities are not only collecting data in these two areas, they are searching for strategies, which might have a positive effect. Research has provided a variety of factors, which contribute to retention and timely degree completion. High-impact practices, such as service learning, student faculty research and internships featured several characteristics that may contribute to retention and timely degree completion. Internships offer several advantages, such as preparation for future careers …

Culturally Responsive Classroom Management Techniques And Former Riverside County And San Bernardino County Teachers Of The Year: A Phenomenological Study, Brian Redmond

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to determine what former County Teachers of the Year understand and describe as the methods they use for culturally responsive classroom management with respect to Brown’s Five Culturally Responsive Factors (developing personal relationships, creating caring learning communities, establishing a business-like learning environment, establishing congruent communication processes and, teaching with assertiveness and clearly stating expectations).

Methodology: This qualitative study used a phenomenological design to discover what former County Teachers of the Year do to identify and describe as the methods they use for culturally responsive classroom management with respect to Brown’s Five Culturally …

California Expert Principals’ Identification Of The Best Strategies For The Implementation Of A Transition From A Traditional Grading And Reporting System To A Standards-Based Grading And Reporting System: A Delphi Study, Sean Redmond

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this policy Delphi study was to identify the strategies California K-12 expert principals deem necessary for the implementation of a transition from a traditional grading and reporting system to a standards-based grading and reporting system, utilizing a panel of expert principals to rate the importance of the identified strategies and to recommend the best methods of implementing the five most important strategies.

Methodology: The Delphi method was utilized in this study. An expert panel of California K-12 principals was assembled, and three rounds of electronic surveys were administered. The first-round results identified strategies for implementing a …

An Exploration Of Contextual Factors Of Weight-Based Discrimination Against Business Leaders, Ellen Hermann Lynch

Dissertations

Two-thirds of the adult population of the United States are considered overweight (Ogden, Carroll, Kit, & Flegal, 2013) and are susceptible to weight-based discrimination in the workplace (Rudolph, Wells, Weller, & Baltes, 2009). The weight-based discrimination experienced by business leaders is relatively unknown. The present research used Leader Categorization Theory (Lord & Maher, 1991) as a framework to examine the extent to which a business leader’s weight is associated with their perceived leadership qualities and effectiveness in two studies. The first study isolated the relationship between the base rate of weight in an organization and the assumed weight of the …

Fathers' Experiences With Their Premature Infants Or Unhealthy Neonates, Lisa Cummings

Dissertations

Author: Lisa Cummings PhD RN

Fathers’ Experiences with Their Premature Infants or Unhealthy Neonates

Purpose and Background/Significance: Fifteen million babies worldwide are born prematurely each year, impacting a multitude of fathers. The importance of an early close father-infant relationship has been identified as central for the development of the child. Fathers influence on a child’s emotional and cognitive development and their physical well-being and health. Many times, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is the initial contact environment between a father and his premature infant. Studies have shown that the NICU can be a stressful environment for parents, producing emotional …

An Examination Of The Use Of Social Media To Improve The Psychological Well-Being Of Saudi Arabia Women, Shoaa Ahmed Dardoum

Dissertations

Social media is used increasingly for different purposes, playing an important role in peoples’ lives. It has been reported that social media is involved with the mental health profession as it offers a way to communicate with mental health providers and peers who share similar concerns. People with mental illnesses who have utilized social media to share and find mental health information have reported positive outcomes related to their mental health status. However, additional research is needed in regard to the mental health status of general populations. As such, this quantitative study was intended to examine the use of shared …

A Mixed Methods Investigation Of Student Achievement And Satisfaction In Traditional Versus Online Learning Environments, Jessica L. Manion

Dissertations

To evaluate student achievement and satisfaction in different course delivery modes the researcher investigated both traditional and online undergraduate accounting courses at a private Midwestern university. By comparing student achievement and satisfaction in traditional versus online undergraduate accounting courses, the study aimed to highlight what works best in education and provide guidance to administrators and instructors alike. This investigation included students enrolled in undergraduate accounting courses during the 2016-2017, 2017-2018, and 2018-2019 school years. The mixed-methods framework allowed the researcher to examine this educational issue from the quantitative and qualitative perspectives. Quantitatively, the researcher examined secondary data from both student …

A Mixed-Methods Study Of Applying Andragogical Practices To An Online Tesol Teacher Training Course At A Midwestern University, Daisy Anne Mary Skelly

Dissertations

Preservice teachers needed to be prepared to teach culturally and linguistically diverse learners, because English learners continued to enroll in new geographic areas. In response to the reauthorization of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, requirements for teaching culturally and linguistically diverse students were added to teacher certification programs at the state level. Universities offering teacher certification programs addressed new program requirements in different ways, including adding competencies to existing courses or creating new courses. The purpose of this mixedmethods study was to investigate the knowledge, pedagogical skill, and self-efficacy levels of preservice teachers and their perceptions of English …

A Framework For Personalized Content Recommendations To Support Informal Learning In Massively Diverse Information Wikis, Heba M Ismail

Dissertations

Personalization has proved to achieve better learning outcomes by adapting to specific learners’ needs, interests, and/or preferences. Traditionally, most personalized learning software systems focused on formal learning. However, learning personalization is not only desirable for formal learning, it is also required for informal learning, which is self-directed, does not follow a specified curriculum, and does not lead to formal qualifications. Wikis among other informal learning platforms are found to attract an increasing attention for informal learning, especially Wikipedia. The nature of wikis enables learners to freely navigate the learning environment and independently construct knowledge without being forced to follow a …

Negotiating The Intersection Of Arabic And Anglo-American Literary Journalism: Exploring Possibilities, Challenging Canons, Samah Gomaa Abou Marzouk

Dissertations

Literary journalism is an art form that combines storytelling techniques with the verifiability of standard journalism. Research in the field is recent and predominantly Western. Unlike Anglo-American literary journalism, there are no studies on Arabic literary journalism as a stand-alone art form in Arabic and only one in English, which examines the reasons for its scarcity. This study aims to prove otherwise. The objective of this research is to combine history and criticism in exploring Arabic literary journalism; examine it is predecessors, characteristics, motives and how it relates to its Anglo-American counterpart; and determine whether the two are fundamentally different …

Estimation Of Infectious Intestinal Disease Burden And Description Of The Infectious Disease Surveillance System In Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, Fatema Hamdan Saif Al Alkeem Al Zaabi

Dissertations

Introduction: Infectious disease (ID) is an ongoing problem worldwide. In order to manage this problem, it is important to have an integrated and effective surveillance system that can be used to estimate the burden of ID. There is a scarcity of studies published on the prevalence of IDs in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), both in hospital settings and in the community. Infectious Intestinal Disease (IIDs) have been one of the most commonest IDs that have been studied in the community around the world, there are no studies on the prevalence of IIDs in Ras Al Khaimah (RAK). Furthermore, while …

An Investigation Into Knowledge Transfer From Expatriates To Uae Nationals: Organizational And Individual Factors Motivating Knowledge-Sharing Behaviour In Uae Organizations, Amna Khamis Alnakh

Dissertations

This study intends to identify the factors that influence knowledge sharing between individuals in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) context, specifically knowledge sharing from expatriates to UAE citizens, at both an individual and organizational level. This research aims to highlight the determinants of knowledge-sharing behaviours and the role of interpersonal relations (social trust) in the knowledge transfer process. These factors can subsequently be considered by organizations and human resource (HR) practitioners to facilitate the successful implementation of knowledge-sharing behaviour and knowledge transfer in UAE organizations and support UAE’s Emiratization policies and processes. This, in turn, can lead to higher organizational …

Beyond Curriculum: Information Literacy, Librarianship, And The Role Of The Faculty At A Rural Community College In Missouri, Michelle A. Lane

Dissertations

This case study was designed to evaluate faculty perceptions of teaching information literacy within the general education curriculum, the level of collaboration between faculty and library staff, and challenges regarding instruction of information literacy at a community college in Missouri. Using an adapted survey from a 2014 study by Dr. Sharon Weiner of Purdue University, faculty were asked to provide their current views regarding instruction of information literacy at the Missouri institution. Additionally, archival data provided by the institution were analyzed using triangulation to establish a baseline regarding the best path forward to improving instruction, assessment, and student learning. While …

A Black African Teacher’S Experiences In America: Examining The Lived Experiences Of A Black African Teacher Working In A Midwestern Public School, Valentine Malumbila

Dissertations

Using sociocultural theoretical approach, intersectionality of race, Critical Race Theory, and Bakhtin’s authoritative and persuasive discourse as a theoretical framework, this study explores the various diversities that I encountered as a Black African working and living in America. The diversity that I, like many other Black African immigrants in America, suffer results from culture shock due to lack of culture capital to comprehend and make sense of my surroundings. The lack of culture capital left me exposed to me some degrees of ethnic profiling, isolation and loneliness, and grieving due to loss of family and things that mattered the most …

Factors Related To 30-Day Readmission Among Hispanics With Type 2 Diabetes, Athena Mohebbi

Dissertations

Background: Medicare spends $17 billion yearly on 30-day readmissions. Hispanic adults have a higher prevalence of diabetes (12.6%) compared to non-Hispanic whites (9.4%). Those with a diagnosis of diabetes have the 17% higher rate (14-23%) for 30-day readmission. Little research has been conducted on Hispanics with diabetes relative to 30-day readmissions. Aims: Among Hispanics with type 2 diabetes: 1) measure the incidence of 30-day readmission by sociodemographic, behavioral and clinical factors;2) identify independent factors associated with 30-day readmission among Hispanic adults with type 2 diabetes accounting for potential covariates; 3) compare the ability of the Hispanic Diabetic Study Model plus …

The Relationship Of Self-Directed Learning Readiness And Completion Of Officers In The Army War College Distance Education Program, Kevin Mangan

Dissertations

Today, more adults are participating in online education than ever before. The latest data from the Department of Educational Statistics show an increase of students taking all coursework online grew to 15.4% (Ginder, Kelly-Reid, & Mann, 2018). Despite this trend, some adults lack the readiness to engage in formal adult education. Readiness and other factors such as time and personal matters adults encounter are some of the most significant challenges for institutions in addressing attrition rates, which average 38% (USDE, 2011). The Army higher education programs experience the same problem in their educational institutions (U.S. Army War College Data, 2016). …

The Ontology, Epistemology, And Axiology Of Social And Racial Justice Educators: An Untapped Resource To Address The Unequal Educational Outcomes For Students Of Color And Other Non-Dominant Comunities, Adriana Eva Rangel

Dissertations

Despite repeated efforts towards educational reform, white students continue to experience higher educational attainment levels than historically underserved students. While the responsibility to change these outcomes has been vastly placed on the educational system, these disenfranchised populations have largely carried the blame for not improving their educational achievement. Thus, Students of Color have been portrayed as not possessing the drive nor interest to increase their educational attainment rates. Research notes many educators working with Communities of Color often lack the necessary critical consciousness around issues of race, privilege, power and oppression. These are warranted to adequately understand and support opportunities …

Students Of Black Or African American Ancestry In Grades 10th -12th Perceptions Of Their Schooling Experiences, Annette Renee Kennedy

Dissertations

California continues to tackle blatant racist acts within school systems across the state as recent headlines read, “Deeply offensive blackface video of California high school student sparks backlash” (Yancey-Bragg, Guynn, & Rhor, 2019, n.p.) and “Four teachers and their principal placed on leave after cheerfully posing for photo with noose” (Lunning, 2019, n.p.). Gaining a greater awareness of the non-headlining actions that take place on a day-to-day basis that have an equally powerful adverse effect on the school experiences of black learners was the focus of this study. Microaggressions are “subtle, stunning, often automatic, and non-verbal exchanges which are put …

Multi-Tiered System Of Support In California Rural School Settings, John P. Schilling

Dissertations

Rural schools face a different set of challenges that most urban school do not,

such as geographical proximity to qualified staffing, educational and student resources, budgets based upon a smaller student population, access technology and isolation. The purpose of the research was to examine how rural schools and rural school leaders are confronting the challenge of implementing MTSS with limited resources. The researcher used the lens of implementation science as a methodological framework for examining the implementation of MTSS. The researcher used a mixed method design to collect survey data from thirty-eight rural school educators and to collect data from …

Cultivating Civic Engagement At The Intersection Of Community College And Asian American Pacific Islanders: Understanding And Supporting Aapi Students’ Civic Learning At The Two-Year Institutions, Hyon Chu Chu Yi-Baker

Dissertations

Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) students are considered the fastest growing segment of college participants in the United States. AAPI students represent the majority racial demographic population in the California Community College campuses (Chang et al., 2007). Studies on youth and civic learning points to the benefits of early engagement as it can lead to greater participation in future civic activity well beyond their college years. However, literature on AAPI community college students and civic engagement is mostly absent. This single institutional study examined AAPI student’s civic engagement experience and investigated the factors that both support and hinder their motivation …

Evaluation Of Reasons That May Affect Whether Academically Capable Females Choose To Major In Stem, Kerri Alexander Adkins

Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to study the reasons why academically capable females choose to pursue majors in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields. A mixed-methods approach using focus groups and a survey were used. Data were gathered from the focus group sessions and used to develop the survey that was then validated and checked for reliability. After some edits, the survey was administered to female freshmen attending Western Kentucky University. Unfortunately, all female students who completed the survey except one indicated they were pursuing STEM majors.

The results from this study suggest that the reasons surrounding the …

The Big Five Inventory, Substance Abuse History, And Academic Success Among Students Majoring In Substance Abuse Counseling, Christi D. Myers

Dissertations

Students pursuing careers in substance abuse counseling may have higher rates of substance abuse histories than the general student body Previous research has shown that substance abuse is negatively correlated with Conscientiousness, yet academic success is positively correlated with Conscientiousness. This may put them at risk for academic difficulties. There is no previous research that has investigated the links betwe en personality traits, substance abuse history, and academic success. This study investigated the correlations between personality, substance abuse history, and academic success with 103 participants from an addict ion counseling program at a community college in South Texas. The Big …