Digital Commons Network^™

Multivariate Hierarchical Generalized Linear Model For Intensive Longitudinal Data With Incorporation Of Outcome Variability As A Predictor, Maryam Skafyan

Dissertations

In classical statistical problems, variability is often considered a nuisance parameter in both the technical and the practical sense. However, emerging evidence suggests that in certain settings, the underlying variability of subject measures may play an equally important role as other covariates in predicting future outcomes of interest. Intensive longitudinal data has become increasingly popular in many scientific applications, providing opportunities to explore the variability of predictors within subjects to address a wide range of research questions. Despite its potential, there remains a dearth of research on models that incorporate variation as a predictor in the mean model. Furthermore, there …

Self-Care, Stress, And School Burnout Among Graduate Students Preparing To Become Mental Health Practitioners, Melissa Rodriquez Estrada

Dissertations

Students in graduate school assume countless responsibilities that range from school-related work to personal commitments (e.g., El-Ghoroury et al., 2012; Myers et al., 2012), resulting in high levels of stress. In addition, those graduate students enrolled in applied psychology programs that focus on working with client populations must navigate clinical and field placement stressors. Dealing with high levels of stress over time paired with ineffective coping strategies can lead to a feeling of burnout. A growing body of research has indicated that appropriate self-care may effectively reduce high levels of stress and burnout (e.g., Kim et al., 2018; Rico & …

Effect Of Implementing Psychosocial Interventions As Pen Pals In General Chemistry, Kristofer Felix Kintner Reiser

Dissertations

General Chemistry has a high DFWI rate, disproportionately impacting students of marginalized identities (Anderson & Kim, 2006). This research investigates the hypothesis that the impacts of stereotype threat and imposter syndrome could be moderated by sharing with others through a pen pal activity. This embedded mixed method study recruited participants who were general chemistry students at a public university in the Rocky Mountain region over two years (n= 264). Participant affect was measured using the Measure of Chemistry Identity (Hosbein & Barbera, 2020), Theories of Intelligence Scale (Dweck, 2000), Chemistry Attitudes and Experiences-Self Efficacy (Dalgety et al., 2003), and general …

Oikophilia: Relationships Among Life, Human Life, And Place In School Communities And Their Expressions In Curriculum, Mandi Leigh

Dissertations

This naturalistic, non-experimental inquiry explored relationships among life, human life, and place in school communities along with their expressions in school curriculum. I used educational criticism and connoisseurship to richly describe, interpret meaning, evaluate significance, and discern thematics surrounding relationships and how those relationships were expressed in the curriculum. Postmodern ecology provided the framework for acknowledging ecological precarity and performing the critical, as in essential, work of deconstructing what harms life that could be reconstituted as nourishment. The first study question was: What relationships exist among life, human life, and place in school communities? To answer the question, ecological data …

Men’S Feminist Identity Development: The Process And Critical Influences, Tiana Alexandria Kioko Johnson

Dissertations

Research has historically focused on feminist women, leaving a gap in the literature for exploring men’s feminist identity development. Given that feminist identity is a strong predictor for engaging in gender-justice activism, more research is needed on the experiences of feminist men and how they come to identify as feminists. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to develop a theory of men’s feminist identity development process, as no widely accepted model currently exists. Additionally, the study sought to investigate feminist men’s experiences of privilege as well as guilt in shame in their feminist identity development, as these factors …

Latinx Mothers’ Experience During Their Children’S First Individualized Education Program Process, Briceida Guerrero

Dissertations

As the current number of special education students continues to increase throughout the United States, so does the number of students who currently identify as Latinx. With this increase, it is important to consider what the experiences are for these students’ families as they learn that their children qualify for special education services as well as what this implies for their educational progress and futures. This study used a qualitative research methods approach to examine the experiences of Latinx mothers of students recently qualified for special education services. This study involved a phenomenological approach to study what their experiences were …

Exploring The Effects Of Cannabidiol On Psychological Health, Cognitive Function, Neural Health, And Natural Killer Cells, Arjun Ramani

Dissertations

Cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychotropic cannabis sativa derivative, is gaining attention as a potential promotor of neurological function and cognitive health and as a potential anti-inflammatory compound, although these claims lack evidence-based support from the scientific community. The purpose of this study was to determine whether 8 weeks of 2 doses, 40 mg (CB40) or 20 mg (CB20), of CBD containing beverages will improve psychological health, cognitive function, neural health as well as NK and NKT cell quantity and NK cell function when compared to a control vehicle beverage (CBDV) and a calorie-matched placebo beverage (PLAC) in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, …

What Covid-19 Tweets Reveal About Risk Perception And Safety Preventative Measures And Behaviors Two Years Into A Pandemic, Elizabeth Vargas

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine individuals Covid-19 risk perceptions two years into a long running pandemic. Data was collected analyzing risk perception and safety preventative measures to understand how individuals communicated risk in a health crisis that lasts more than two years. 116,401 tweets were collected from March 7-18, 2022, and analyzed utilizing a qualitative content analysis design. Four main classes were identified from the data which looked at how individuals perceived risk, how individuals determined risk from information that was shared, what preventative measures individuals were utilizing, and how individuals were living after the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic …

Acting Locally: Vegetable Gardening In Southern Illinois, Aimee L. Trojnar

Dissertations

This dissertation explores the everyday practice of home and community vegetable gardening in a small southern Illinois city. The project engages with questions of how diverse elements of practice interact over time in the development of both gardens and gardeners, dwelling particularly on how the material agency of nonhumans contributes to what emerges. Combining a broad investigation of societal influences and constraints involved in gardening practices with a granular focus on material interactions in the garden, I consider the kinds of relationships individuals forge with the nonhuman environment in a modern, Western context and how they do so. Understanding such …

Examination Of A Measure To Assess Clients’ Perceptions Of The Client-Provider Relationship In Home Visiting Services, Bethelhem Belachew

Dissertations

Home visiting services are prevention-or intervention-based programs provided to caregivers during the prenatal period through the first few years of a child’s development (Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000). Engagement in services is documented to improve caregivers’ knowledge of child development and parenting practices (e.g., home safety, nutrition; Ammerman et al., 2006). Despite these benefits, programs are challenged with high levels of attrition (Gomby, Culross, & Behrman, 1999). One reliable predictor of client engagement in services is the client-provider relationship. However, measures that have been developed to assess the clients’ perception of their relationship with their home visitor relationship are limited (Girvin …

Exploring The Dimensions Of Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Affirmative Clinical Supervision, Lindsey N. Dollar

Dissertations

Graduate programs have continued to improve over time regarding incorporating training on LGB issues into coursework and practicum experiences with less emphasis on supervision. Since supervision is a major training area where therapists learn about clients and themselves, it becomes an important area for also teaching supervisees how to work with minority populations. However, relatively absent from discussions of cultural influences in supervision is a focus on LGB concerns, and missing is the ‘how to’ within the supervisory relationship. This quantitative investigation sought to learn how clinical supervisors with knowledge of LGB issues and people implement LGB-affirmative supervision, and to …

Risk And Resilience Factors For Black Individuals Who Face Racial Discrimination, Tabitha M. Mpamira

Dissertations

African Americans report extensive experiences of discrimination across a range of individual, institutional, cultural situations, and more than any other marginalized group (RWJF, 2017). The pervasiveness of discrimination keeps Black individuals at risk of severe physiological ills and heightened risk of psychopathology, including onset of depression and racial trauma symptoms (Williams & Mohammed, 2009). This study investigated risk and resilience factors for Black individuals who face racial discrimination in the United States of America by examining whether encounters of discrimination correlated with psychological distress (depression, anxiety) and racial trauma symptoms. Additionally, the study investigated factors (social support, psychological flexibility, and …

The Correlational And Predictive Ability Of Pre-Season Risk Screenings On Hip And Groin Problems In Competitive Male Ice Hockey Players, William Suits

Dissertations

Background

Symptoms and disability due to conditions affecting the hip and groin are common in competitive male ice hockey players and can lead to long-term adverse health consequences. It is common practice for injury risk screenings at the beginning of the competitive season (preseason) to identify those with hip and groin symptoms and disability and guide primary and secondary prevention strategies. Commonly cited risk factors include total hip rotation range of motion (ROM), hip adductor strength, and the ratio of hip adductor to abductor strength. However, there is conflicting research regarding the utility of these preseason risk screenings, and the …

Predictors Of Relational Aggression In Women Across Adulthood, Alison Poor

Dissertations

Relational aggression involves behavior intended to harm victims’ social status or reputation through acts like manipulation, gossip, exclusion, and blackmail. Most of the research on relational aggression has focused on children and early adolescents, with college students receiving some attention in recent years. A smaller body of work supports the relevance of relational aggression among adults in workplace settings, marital relationships, and assisted-living facilities. While few studies with adults have been integrated into the literature on relational aggression, they provide evidence that these behaviors continue into adulthood. The current study explored relational aggression among women between the ages of 18 …

Reducing Stress And Burnout In Hospice And Palliative Care Through Education, Marvet Wint

Dissertations

Burnout, a syndrome described as a state of mental and or physical exhaustion, impacts the workforce of hospice and palliative nurses where employees' behaviors and professional efficacy reflect poorly on their work. The prevalence of burnout among hospice nurses led to the development of this project. The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) served as a reference guide for developing the content, which addressed whether a staff education program at this Southeastern United States facility, would affect a change in knowledge among hospice nurses reduce burnout. Knowles's theory of adult learning framed this education program on self-care and stress management. Focus was …

The Effects Of Stepped Care On Burnout For University Counseling Center Clinicians, Madison Estrada

Dissertations

The ability of university counseling centers (UCCs) to meet the increased demand for service by students is becoming an increasing concern. While UCCs are seeing more students than ever, this increased demand has not been met with an increase in resources. As such, UCC clinicians are at a greater risk for developing burnout. However, according to the Demand – Control – Support Model, this risk could be reduced if UCC staff were afforded higher degrees of control over the resources they do have and received adequate support and acknowledgement for the work they accomplish. Through surveying 339 UCC clinicians in …

Missing Value Imputation For Single Omics And Multi-Omics Data, Meng Song

Dissertations

The integration analyses of multi-omics data have the advantages of extending our understanding of biological system across multiple omics layers, unraveling the functional mechanism of complex disease development, and refining the discovery of novel drug targets. However, multi-omics studies often face challenges such as data heterogeneity, missing values problem, interpretability, and imbalance classes. Among these challenges, the missing values problem is a critical issue for large cohort studies as not all samples will get a complete measurement for all the omics layers. To address the problem of missing values in multi-omics data, I focused on the imputation of completely missing …

Neurodiverse Perceptions Of Inclusivity In The Workplace, Shannon Lively

Dissertations

The increase in neurodivergent professionals in the workplace has led to a significant need for researchers to examine neurodiversity inclusion in the workplace. Research has portrayed workplace inclusion as the perception that the individual is a valued member of a workgroup through satisfactory experiences of belongingness and uniqueness. Through semi-structured interviews with 20 neurodivergent professionals, this study examined how they view inclusion, exclusion, and cope with exclusion in the workplace. The neurodivergent participants identified six inclusion and six exclusion categories. Results were largely consistent with previous inclusion research, however, one novel category, flexible accommodations, suggests the importance of considerate accommodations …

Grief And Personal Growth Experiences Of Bereaved Spouses And Adult Child Caregivers Of Individuals With Dementia, Melissa M. Romero

Dissertations

Caregivers of individual's with dementia are usually older spouses or middle aged children who provide long-term care in the home. Researchers have examined variables associated with poor adjustment in bereaved caregivers which include high levels of pre-death depression, high levels of caregiver burden, feeling unprepared for the death, and providing care for a cognitively impaired person. However, relatively little is known about variables that might predict positive adjustment in caregivers after the death of a family member with dementia. The meaning reconstruction theory of bereavement was used as the conceptual framework for this study which explored the relationship between pre-death …

Educating Nurses On Workflow Changes From Electronic Heath Record Adoption, Rhoda Lynn San Jose

Dissertations

Workflow issues related to adoption of the electronic health record (EHR) has led to unsafe workarounds, decreased productivity, inefficient clinical documentation and slow rates of EHR adoption. The problem addressed in this quality improvement project was nurses' lack of knowledge about workflow changes due to EHR adoption. The purpose of this project was to identify changes in workflow and to develop an educational module to communicate the changes. This project was guided by both the ADDIE model (analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation) and the diffusion of innovations theory.

An Analysis Of Capital Flow To Construct An Economic Typology In A Comparative Case Study Of Three Ancient Cities: Third Kingdom Of Ur, New Kingdom Of Thebes, And Classical Athens, Darrell Gremillion

Dissertations

This dissertation adds to the literature on Economic Development through the development of a Typology of Economy applicable to the earliest cities. Understanding the evolution of these early economies is a crucial step in understanding the past to assist in the establishment of policies for the future. This is especially important in the light of the environmental and sustainability challenges facing the globe today.

The cities in the comparative case study include the Third Dynasty of Ur in Mesopotamia, the New Kingdom of Thebes in Egypt, and Classical Athens in Greece. These cities are chosen for the case study for …

Losing Face-To-Face Selling In A Digital World: An Empirical Investigation Of Relationship Selling In The Independent Insurance Agency, Casey Bell

Dissertations

Over the past 20 years, our economy has transformed into a service-based economy as opposed to the previous industrial-based economy. The service industry is growing and rapidly becoming one of the primary sectors of the economy. Relationship selling is crucial to the service industry, especially the property and casualty insurance market—because it involves complex, highly intangible services. Even though consumers use the internet before reaching out to an insurance agent, this does not mean relationship selling is unnecessary. With complex products like property and casualty insurance, relationship selling is crucial to grasp what consumers truly need and understand. The purpose …

Predictors Of Nurse Practitioners' End-Of-Life Communication Behaviors With Adults Who Have End-Stage Renal Disease, Joanne V. Payongayong

Dissertations

The scope of end-of-life (EOL) communication is not well known among advanced practice nurses (APNs) who care for adults with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior, the aims of the study were to examine the independent effects of knowledge, attitude, and perceived behavioral control on APNs' engagement in EOL communication and the mediating and moderating effects of attitude and perceived behavioral control between knowledge and EOL communication. A theoretically derived 17-item survey measuring the concepts of interest was developed and administered to a convenience sample of 127 APNs.

Factors Affecting The Symptom Burden In Chronic Heart Failure, Gary M. Gusick

Dissertations

Heart failure (HF) is a health problem of epidemic proportions and a clinical syndrome that leads to progressively severe symptoms, which contribute significantly to the burden of the disease. Several factors may affect the symptom burden of patients with HF, including physiological, psychological, and spiritual factors. This study was designed to examine the inter-relationship of physiological, psychological, and spiritual factors affecting symptoms for patients with HF.

The aims of this study were to examine symptom burden of heart failure patients related to: (1) the physiological factor of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP); (2) the psychological factor of depression; (3) the spiritual …

Technology In Nursing Classrooms: A Qualitative Phenomenological Interpretative Study, Ose G. Martinez

Dissertations

Nursing students have to learn how to critically think and pass a licensure examination to practice their profession. Current students seem to be bored by lecture strategies most commonly applied by seasoned nurse educators. A gap in the literature regarding lived experiences of seasoned nursing faculty members applying technological applications when teaching nursing topics. The purpose of this phenomenological interpretative study was to understand the lived experiences of seasoned nursing educators using technology in nursing classrooms. Seventeen seasoned nurse educators participated in semistructured interviews. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed with the NVIVO 11™ software. During the interpretative analysis, eight …

Advance Care Planning In Advanced Heart Failure: A Relational Exploration Of Autonomy, Tieghan Killackey

Dissertations

Advance care planning (ACP) is the process of understanding and sharing personal values and goals to ensure people with serious illnesses receive healthcare and treatment that is consistent with their goals and preferences. With the increasing number of treatment options available to patients living with advanced heart failure (HF), ACP is regarded as a means of preserving individual autonomy throughout the illness trajectory. Despite significant public awareness campaigns, research and interventions developed to increase participation in ACP, this practice remains severely under-utilized by those who are chronically ill. This gap in practice highlights the need for further exploration of how …

The Perception Of Army Counselors On The Impact Of Emotional Intelligence Training On Army Non-Commissioned Officer Leadership Decision-Making Effectiveness, Geraldine Turituri

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to describe the perception of Army counselors in the Military Family and Life Counselor (MFLC) program about the impact of emotional intelligence (EI) training on Army non-commissioned officer (NCO) leadership decision-making effectiveness in their supervision of the soldiers they are responsible for. This study also researched the perception of these counselors about the benefits and challenges of incorporating EI leadership preparation with traditional Army training for NCOs.

Methodology: This qualitative phenomenological study explored Army counselors’ perceptions about the need for EI training for Army NCOs to perform as effective decision-makers. Since …

Tobacco Use And Secondhand Smoke Exposure Among Women In Aleta Wondo, Ethiopia: An Exploratory Study Of Knowledge, Attitudes, Beliefs And Behaviors, Anne Berit Petersen

Dissertations

By 2030, sub-Saharan Africa is projected to be the epicenter of the tobacco epidemic. In Ethiopia there is an opportunity to avert an increase in tobacco-induced diseases; however, local data is needed to inform proactive contextualized tobacco control interventions. This cross-sectional community-base study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors (KABs) related to tobacco use and secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure of women in the Aleta Wondo region.

Allied Health Faculty Members’ Perspective On Interprofessional Collaborative Practice: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study, Prajakta Khare-Ranade, Margaret Newsham Beckley, Mary Geders Falcetti

Dissertations

A framework for interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) was developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) (WHO, 2010) in response to the need to address the complicated conditions that exist in today’s health systems. Much of the focus of today’s health service delivery is predicated on the social determinants of health (Barzansky et al., 2019), which refer to the environmental conditions associated with where people are born, live, go to school, work, play, age, and worship that have an impact on health, function, quality of life, and risks (Healthy People 2030, n.d.). IPCP is thought to be the only approach effective …

A Development And Validation Of The Advance Planning Preparedness Scale (Apps), Renee Mcleod-Sordjan

Dissertations

Delayed advance care planning and costs of aggressive life sustaining treatments at end of life significantly contribute to the economic burden of healthcare in the United States. Dying trajectories, in most chronic conditions, have terminal prognostic uncertainties that do not address advance care planning by clinicians in a timely manner. Clinician and nursing barriers include perceptions of inappropriate timing, lack of skills in end-of-life communication and viewing readiness as a behavior rather than a death attitude. The purpose of this study is to develop and validate the measurement of psychological preparedness for ACP to aid in the understanding of readiness …