Digital Commons Network^™

Thoughts, Conflicts, And Feelings Of Ela Teachers’ Experiences During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Matthew Osborn

Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic introduced many complications and challenges for educators. There is a need to document and describe teacher experiences during this time to determine common themes that may inform future educational practice. This study utilized narrative inquiry to examine the lived experiences of five secondary ELA teachers during the different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. Three themes concerning how teachers perceived their students, work demands, and self were identified through several rounds of coding and thematic analysis. The findings and conclusions of this study contribute to developing a shared understanding of what happened in secondary education during the various …

The Value Of Mentorship For Black Ballerinas, Anna Dunn

Dissertations

Much research has been done in other fields about the relationship of gender and race to the success of mentors to increase student confidence to pursue additional training or a career in certain fields. The purpose of this study was to articulate formally the importance of the relationship between Black ballet students and a mentor who has lived a similar life experience, having navigated the ballet industry as a Black ballerina. This research sought to answer the questions of what value do Black ballet students perceive in having a Black ballerina as a mentor and how white ballet teachers can …

Business Students’ Perceptions Of The Influence Of Career, Technical, And Agricultural Education (Ctae) On Career Readiness And Graduation Outcomes, Spencer T. Fortson Jr

Dissertations

This qualitative study sought to identify and analyze the perceptions of business students on the influence of CTAE programs on career readiness and graduation outcomes. The study adopted a phenomenological approach to explore how and why students develop their perceptions of CTAE. Notably, the study explored how business students perceive the programs and their roles in promoting career readiness and graduation outcomes and provide recommendations to improve student engagement and interest in CTAE programs. The study was conducted in a large high school in Georgia among a diverse population – regarding gender, race, and socioeconomic status – of students. Notably, …

Teacher Initiated Collaboration In Community: A Case Study Considering Communities Of Practice At A Title I Middle School, Katherine Stewart

Dissertations

This qualitative case study investigates how faculty members in a Title I middle school engage in collaborative practices to enhance professional growth without formal professional learning. Framed within a descriptive lens (Merriam, 1998) and informed by Brown and Duguid's Community of Practice (CoP) framework (1991), the study addresses two research questions: (1) How do teachers collaborate to improve their practice outside formal professional learning? (2) In what ways do these methods reflect the elements of CoP: working, learning, and innovating? Through data analysis, the study reveals that teachers predominantly collaborate on student behavior and classroom management, with curriculum being a …

Evaluating The Need For Professional Learning That Highlights Proficient Teaching Strategies For Students With Autism In The Elementary Environment, Allison Norman

Dissertations

There is an increase in the identification of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) throughout the country. There is also an emphasis on inclusion within the classrooms in the country. This qualitative study addresses the need for teachers to grasp more knowledge about Autism so that they can help children with autism have better access to the general education curriculum and increase support for success in the classroom. Through an action research project, this study aimed to gauge elementary school teachers' existing knowledge about Autism and identify areas where they desired further education. The study involved surveying teachers to understand …

Teachers' Perceptions Of Technology Professional Development And Implementation In An Urban Middle School: A Case Study, Valeria Williams

Dissertations

This qualitative case study focused on understanding teachers’ perceptions of technology-based professional development sessions and the impact of technology requirements on their decisions to remain in or exit the teaching profession. The study involved seven middle school teachers with varying teaching experience and technology backgrounds. Participants shared their insights through journals, interviews, and document notes, which were then organized into themes reflecting their responses to the research questions.

The findings revealed key themes such as the structure and availability of professional learning sessions, facilitators’ positive impact, teachers’ emotions during and after training, optional learning strategies, and how these factors influence …

A Quantitative Correlational Study Of Job Satisfaction Among Critical Care Nurses In Hawai'i, Hazel Downing

Dissertations

One way of reducing nurse shortage and providing effective patient care within critical care units includes addressing the relationships between job satisfaction and nurse socio-demographics. The current quantitative correlational study identified a moderate level of overall job satisfaction among critical care nurses in Hawaii. The highest level of job satisfaction was in flexibility of scheduling and lowest in child care facilities. Rejection of the null hypothesis for six of the eight hypotheses suggested presence of a relationship between socio-demographics and the subscales of job satisfaction. The linear combination of the 10 socio-demographics does not predict the rewards and the professional …

Implementing A Clinical Practice Guideline To Reduce Antibiotic Use In Asymptomatic Bacteriuria, Connie Sue Clum

Dissertations

Antibiotic use in asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) may not be necessary. At the project site, there was no systematic process to manage ordering antibiotics and urine cultures without first diagnosing a urinary tract infection, so an evidence-based solution was sought. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to determine if implementing an antimicrobial stewardship program utilizing the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Asymptomatic Bacteriuria would impact urine cultures ordering and antibiotic use among adult patients admitted to the general medical service. The project was piloted over 12 weeks in an urban hospital …

Implications Of Varying Levels Of Social Support And Peer Involvement On The Success Of Baccalaureate Level Nursing Students, Jeana R. Wilcox

Dissertations

Nursing programs must be able to recruit and successfully train future nurses in a timely manner. However, some students, appearing adequately prepared in application materials, do not move successfully through baccalaureate nursing education, pass the licensing exam, and enter the nursing profession. Nursing students enter into a strictly prescribed curriculum leaving little time for traditional college environment socialization. Unveiling factors leading to greater persistence to degree attainment will ultimately lead to more nursing graduates needed to counter the current nursing shortage. One Midwestern program recently (2003-2004) lost 28% of incoming junior-level nursing students in the first two semesters (C. Horton, …

Patient Safety Culture, Compassion Fatigue, Compassion Satisfaction: Impact On Nurse-Sensitive Patient Outcomes, Debbie Anglade

Dissertations

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) defines patient safety as "freedom from accidental injury and ensuring patient safety involves establishing operational systems and processes that minimize the possibility of errors and maximize the possibility of intercepting them when they occur". For over a decade healthcare organizations have placed a great deal of effort into establishing operational systems and processes to minimize errors and achieve a culture of safety in their organization. This effort to improve patient safety has been one of the most highly publicized and critical issues facing the healthcare industry. In 1999 the IOM report To Err Is Human …

Exploring The Invisible Work Of Nursing: A Case Study Of Simulated Increases In Intensity Of Care On Nurses' Cognitive Load, Clinical Judgment, Stress, And Errors, Laura A. Vasel

Dissertations

Nurses have never before had so much data at the bedside, nor the complex patients and practice environments found in acute care settings today. Processing large amounts of information from multiple sources may result in cognitive overload which may negatively impact patient outcomes. To meet the challenge of improving quality of care, a conceptual model was created to guide research exploring the associations between the cognitive work of nursing, nursing care, and the complex context of the hospital setting. The purpose of this research was to explore the invisible cognitive work of nursing by examining relationships between cognitive load, nursing …

“Haiti Is My Heart”: Exploring Return Migration Experiences Among The Haitian American Diaspora, Semline Singleton

Dissertations

The dissertation explored the return migration experiences among first- and second-generation Haitian diaspora members in the United States. The study aimed to fill gaps in the existing literature and provide a deeper understanding of the individual experience of return migration through a social and cultural lens. While previous research has focused on the political and economic aspects of return migration, this study examined the personal narratives of return migrants. It explored the causes, impacts, and individual experiences of return migration. To achieve the study's objectives, in-depth interviews were conducted with identified Haitian diaspora members who had returned to Haiti. The …

From Injustice To Social Justice Education: The Journey Of Formerly Incarcerated Women Of Color In Community College, Hossna Sadat Ahadi

Dissertations

There is a growing rate of women of color in the U.S. prison system—their intersectional identities are hypercriminalized surrounding the nexus of oppressive barriers they experience (Annamma, 2017). The lack of awareness, understanding, and advocacy for carceral-impacted women of color in higher education has engendered an erasure. This qualitative research study explored and elevated the lived experiences and intersectional identities of formerly incarcerated women of color in postsecondary education. Through the lens of Latino critical race theory (LatCrit) and Chicana feminism, four methods of data collection took place—surveys, cajitas, testimonios, and reflective journaling. Formerly incarcerated women of color experienced the …

The Lived Experience Of Patients In Feeling Empathy From Nurses When Receiving Care Via Telehealth, Donna L. Cutting

Dissertations

With the increased use of telehealth, particularly telenursing, there is a lack of literature regarding the portrayal and deliverance of empathy and compassion from the nurse to the patient when physical separation exists, such as when the nurse and the patient are in different locations and "seeing" each other through use of technology.

The aim of this qualitative, phenomenological dissertation study was to describe the lived experience of patients feeling empathy or not from nurses when receiving care via telehealth. Watson's Human Caring Science was the nursing theory used to guide this study. The research question was: What is the …

The Relationship Between Discharge Planning, Satisfaction, And Readmission In Home Care Patients, Dawn A. Hohl

Dissertations

Many factors influence, and research supports a linkage, between a patient's perception of the hospital experience, the subsequent transition home, and hospital readmission. The problem is that when the patient perceives discharge planning to be inadequate, dissatisfaction and rehospitalization occurs. Unfortunately, predictors that create a satisfying patient transition from the hospital to home with home care are neither well studied nor well understood. This quantitative, nonexperimental, correlational design using survey methodology examined whether the type of hospital and discharge planning predict home care satisfaction, and whether home care satisfaction, and home care coordinator attendance of Interdisciplinary Team (IDT) rounds predicts …

Integrating Geriatric Content Into Traditional Undergraduate Baccalaureate Nursing Curriculum, Gina B. Diaz

Dissertations

Geriatric content in baccalaureate nursing curriculum is essential. Nursing students need the knowledge, skills, and attitude in providing quality care to older adults. The goal of this project was to integrate geriatric content into the traditional undergraduate (TUG) baccalaureate nursing curriculum. This was completed by providing a 16-week didactic learning experience in the classroom and clinical experiences in the community setting and long-term care facility. Fourteen TUG baccalaureate nursing students from a private college participated in the project. Results indicate that the integration of geriatric content into baccalaureate nursing curriculum increases students' knowledge and skills and enhanced attitude towards older …

Express Yourself! Implementing An Evidence-Based Intervention To Improve Efficacy Of Transformational Leadership For Nurse Managers, Jenna Blind

Dissertations

Transformational leadership is the antecedent of a healthy work environment, satisfied employees, and high quality patient outcomes. Implementing evidence-based interventions to improve upon principles of transformational leadership aligns with the recommendations set forth by the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) Future of Nursing Report (2011). The precursor to developing a leadership workforce that is able to manage change, help others work towards a shared vision, and engage healthcare providers to strive for excellence in care delivery. The purpose of this scholarly project was to improve efficacy of transformational leadership skills of nurse managers using an evidence-based expressive writing intervention and to …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of The Impact Of Iready On Student Reading Achievement For Students In Response To Intervention, Althia Gates

Dissertations

This qualitative case study aimed to explore teachers’ perceptions of the impact of i-Ready on student reading achievement for students in Response to Intervention (RTI). In this qualitative case study, participants were given an opportunity to voice their point of view and perceptions of the impact of i-Ready, including the benefits and barriers they experience when implementing i-Ready as an intervention tool for struggling readers. The need to hear teacher voices and perspectives on an RTI intervention tool is essential to providing students with the best learning experience and growth results. The study included five elementary teachers who implement i-Ready …

Teacher Perceptions Of Calming Corners In Language Arts Middle School Classrooms, Freya Sneed

Dissertations

Student stress and anxiety are at an all-time high. Following the pandemic, more research is needed to better understand what types of interventions can be supportive in helping students manage their emotional wellbeing. To better support them, the researcher worked with various English Language Arts middle school teachers to implement Calming Corners, a social emotional based intervention. In this qualitative action research study, students in sixth-eighth grades were offered the use of Calming Corners in their English Language Arts classes. This research examined whether the Calming Corners was effective in reducing stress and anxiety for the students in their educational …

A Delphi Study Of The Characteristics Of School Counselor Leaders Who Have Overcome Adversity, Anita Shirley

Dissertations

Purpose: This Delphi study aimed to identify essential qualities school counselor leaders need to navigate role confusion, drawing from Maxwell’s (2021) Leading in Tough Times strategies. The Delphi panel identified the following strategies: connecting their roles to the organization’s vision or big picture, promoting their roles through organizational teamwork, and making good choices or strategic organizational decisions which would assist them in meeting and exceeding their professional school counseling standards.

Methodology: A mixed methods Delphi multivariable research design was utilized to collect both qualitative and quantitative data. This approach aimed to gather consensus from 20 current or former school counselors …

Second Victim Syndrome: Nurses Suffering In Silence, Matthew Riehm

Dissertations

Medication errors are inherent in health care due to human fallibility and inherent systemic complexities. Nurses are often unjustly blamed after committing a medication error despite the multitude of contributing factors. Formal education and healthcare organizations focus on preventing medication errors, but little has been done to support nurses involved in these tragic incidents. Recent cases, including RaDonda Vaught and Kimberly Hiatt, demonstrated the victimization of nurses after committing medication errors that plague the healthcare system potentially causing profound psychological trauma, often known as Second Victim Syndrome, SVS. There is limited research on the phenomenon of SVS in nursing due …

Impact Of Social Determinants Of Health On Skill Of Involvement: Differences In First Year Adn And Bsn Nursing Students In Rural Oklahoma, Cynthia Brown

Dissertations

The impact of Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) on Skill of Involvement (SOI) has not been adequately studied in nursing education. The skill of involvement is defined by Benner (2022) as necessary to expert-level nursing and it brings humanity, meaningfulness, acute situational awareness, and rapid thinking required for strong clinical decision-making in crisis management of the deteriorating patient. It is important for nurse educators to understand how SDOH impacts SOI on nursing students in order to transform the delivery of nursing education. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of SDOH on SOIs in first-year nursing students …

Night Shift Acute Care Nurse Narratives: Exploring Collaborative Solutions To Reduce Burnout, Increase Morale And Engagement, And Improve Retention, Melissa Queen-Lomas

Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on nurse recruitment and retention in the United States exacerbated the problem of nurse shortages, particularly for acute care nurses on the night shift. Long hours, heavy workloads, stressful work environments, high patient-nurse ratios, and dissatisfaction with administration are causing nurse burnout at an alarming rate. Burnout leads to low morale, exhaustion, intent to leave, and turnover. Moreover, exhausted night shift nurses compromise patient safety and care with unintentional medication errors or tasks left undone due to rigorous hours and little support or resources. Teambuilding, camaraderie, mentoring, and shared learning opportunities are scarce on night shift, …

Essays On Foreign Direct Investment, Free Trade Agreements, And The Digital Economy, Constance Vigilance

Dissertations

Economic globalization’s key components include international trade, foreign direct investment (FDI), and the digital economy. FDI stimulates export growth, complementing international trade. The global economy is being transformed by digitalization, boosting international trade and GDP through speed, convenience, productivity, and transparency and driving shifts in FDI patterns through resource-efficient products and green technologies.

This dissertation investigates three prominent issues - the FDI inflows to fragile, least-developed countries (LDC), the proliferation of Free Trade Agreements (FTA,) and the digital economy. Using the Generalised Least Squares Random effects (GLS RE) and the Ordinary least squares (OLS) estimations with a sample size of …

The Association Between Emotional Intelligence, Empathy, And Social Determinants Of Health Among Accelerated Bachelor Of Science In Nursing Students: A Multi-State Cross-Sectional Descriptive Study, Kwanza Thomas

Dissertations

This study investigated the association between emotional intelligence (managing and understanding), empathy, and social determinants of health (SDOH) among accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) students. Despite the exponential increase in ABSN programs in the United States, little is known about the association between these variables among this nursing student population. A cross-sectional, correlational descriptive design was used to survey 104 students completing ABSN programs in Georgia, Mississippi, Philadelphia, and Texas. Participants self-reported their socioeconomic and programmatic characteristics using a researcher-developed questionnaire. Emotional intelligence (managing and understanding) was measured using two instruments, including the Situational Test of Emotional Management …

Eliciting A Syncopated Response From An Ensemble, Thomas Trautman

Dissertations

This dissertation began the process of aggregating available knowledge on the subject of eliciting a syncopated response from a musical ensemble from professors of conducting and conducting textbooks, searching for commonalities, and distilling them into several independent variables which can then be quantitatively tested in an experimental or quasi-experimental setting in future research.

Participants (n = 11) were Directors of Choral Activities, or any other job title with similar responsibilities, at universities which confer doctoral degrees in Choral Conducting. Each participant was required to have a different educational background than every other participant. Participants were given 15 examples of …

The Lived Experiences Of K-12 Instructional Technology Leaders During Covid-19, Robin Jackson

Dissertations

This study examines the lived experiences of K-12 Instructional Technology Leaders in rural schools and school districts throughout Mississippi. It sought to explore the challenges that were encountered, the strategies they were employed, and the lessons that were learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, as traditional classroom teaching and learning was abruptly transitioned to 100% online or remote teaching and learning. Five participants were recruited. Only one participant holds the actual title of an instructional technology leader of their school district, while the other four assumed the role and responsibilities of an instructional technology leader for their schools or school districts. …

Understanding The Tick Cellular Immunity To Pathogen Infection, Abdulsalam Adegoke

Dissertations

The tick immune response consist of two main components: the cellular and humoral components. The cellular component consists of hemocytes that circulate in the hemolymph-filled body cavity. Tick hemocytes are functional analogs of the mammalian white blood cells and are involved in immune responses including phagocytosis. The Humoral component includes mainly soluble peptides that function as antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and pattern recognition receptors. Although tick hemocytes partakes in the humoral responses, different tick tissues produce several humoral factors such as AMPs and lectins. We have a deep understanding of the different humoral effectors released across the tick tissues during tick-pathogen …

The Effectiveness Of Curriculum Assessment Literacy Training For Head Start Teachers On Teacher Fidelity Scores And Class Assessment Scores, Netice Rankin, Netice Danyell Rankin

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was threefold, first to assess teachers’ initial knowledge of The Curriculum Fidelity Assessment Tool among Head Start Teachers utilizing the self -assessment. Secondly, the purpose was to assess if an intensive curriculum assessment literacy training made a difference in teacher’s knowledge of the curriculum fidelity Use as measured by The Curriculum Fidelity Assessment Tool for Administrators as reported by ECD Coaches and PI at the pre-test and post-test level. Third, the purpose of this study was to assess if intensive assessment literacy training makes a difference in the variables of interest, namely, curriculum use, classroom …

The Saudi Government's Response To Covid-19: A Social Media Analysis, Raghad Sonbul

Dissertations

In 2020, COVID-19 invaded the world and caused massive losses, materially, morally, and psychologically. Countries worldwide tried to mitigate the damages by taking strict precautionary measures. The response of governments to this pandemic varied. This study explored the Saudi government’s response to the pandemic by examining its official Twitter accounts. Saudi Arabia holds an important position, economically, politically, and religiously. Thus, its response to COVID-19 affects its international image and reputation, as well as the tremendous number of people who visit the country annually during the Umrah and Hajj seasons. A qualitative content analysis was conducted, and 1,007 tweets posted …