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Physical Education In Colorado: Status And Stakeholders’ Perceptions, Xiaoping Fan

Dissertations

This dissertation includes two studies, aiming to explore the status of physical education and stakeholders’ perceptions of physical education in Colorado. In study one, using the PE for All Colorado model policy as a guiding framework, the purpose of this study was to explore the status of physical education in Colorado. Research questions included: (a) what is the status of physical education in Colorado based on the PE for All model policy’s recommendations? and (b) what are the facilitators and barriers to implementing physical education in schools? A sequential explanatory mixed method design was utilized in this study consisting of …

Effects Of Exercise Training On Neutrophil Proliferation And Function In Cancer Patients, Nicholas Harman

Dissertations

Cancer and its treatments, namely chemotherapy and radiation, lead to negative physiological consequences. Neutrophils are the most abundant leukocytes in circulation with several studies pointing to the impact of cancer and its treatments lowering the count and function of this cell line. Exercise has been shown to positively impact to neutrophil count and function in the generally healthy population. However, this effect is less understood in the cancer population. The purpose of this study was to quantify and characterize neutrophil populations in cancer patients and examine the effects of a prescribed exercise intervention on neutrophil count and neutrophil function. It …

The Effects Of Cost, Level Of Safety, And Severity Of Injury On Manager Decisions To Implement A Safety Solution, Jonathan M. Hochmuth

Dissertations

Workplace injuries continue to be a source of substantial human and financial costs each year. Behavioral safety processes have been effective in reducing workplace injuries by increasing safety-related behaviors. In recent years, the focus in behavioral safety has shifted towards the role of managers in establishing and maintaining safe behaviors and conditions in the workplace. Understanding how managers make decisions to allocate resources is critical to improving safety. The field of behavioral economics has developed methods for studying decision-making. While there have been calls to apply these methods to occupational safety, there are only two empirical studies which have done …

Informing Cognitive Screening In The Young Adult Population, Samantha L. Mcdaniel

Dissertations

The clock drawing test (CDT) is a cognitive screening measure with sound psychometric properties which has been well researched over the past century. The CDT is a popular tool for many healthcare professionals to administer independently or as part of a more thorough cognitive evaluation. Given the drastic technological and social developments over the years since the CDT was developed as well as the persistent research focus on older adult populations, a gap in the CDT literature presented for young adults, who may have difficulty drawing an analog clock. Identifying cognitive impairment can improve health outcomes. The young adult population …

In An Era Of Soft Skills: Investigating Teamwork Skills In The Geosciences, Samuel Cornelius Nyarko

Dissertations

Geoscience employers have increasingly called for student competency in three sets of skills – technical, field and soft skills. One major soft skill identified by employers is teamwork, which is critical in laboratory and field-based activities. At the same time, educators seek to inculcate in students a stronger focus on the development of teamwork skills as they are useful for knowledge sharing and problem solving. This interconnected value of teamwork in both the workforce and academia means students’ preparation should include learning teamwork in the geoscience. However, before educators can design strategies that help students learn critical teamwork skills, we …

A Model For Evaluating Charitable Contributions In Nonprofit Organizations In Kalamazoo County, Michigan, Kristen Smith

Dissertations

Reported data suggest there has been an increase in charitable giving and the number of charitable organizations in communities nationwide over the last 20 years. It is widely believed that growth in nonprofit organizations would be a valuable asset for a community, but limited research evaluates the return on investment in these organizations. To ensure these organizations are good stewards of resources, various forms of accountability have been established, including websites like “Charity Navigator™,” which provide rankings and scores to charities nationwide. Data repositories like these make it possible to investigate variations in these organizations' funding, growth, and impact. This …

Essays On Bitcoin And Cryptocurrencies, Jiasong Wu

Dissertations

Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, invented as potential digital international currencies, have gradually drawn more and more attention since their birth. The growing popularity of cryptocurrencies in the past decade and the recent acceptance of Bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador suggests that there is growing acceptance of these instruments and that cryptocurrencies are here to stay. Among these cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin has a unique place being the first and most well-known cryptocurrency in terms of price, market capitalization, and trading volume.

The first two essays of this dissertation focus on Bitcoin and the third essay focuses on the cryptocurrency market in …

Gender Quotas And Women's Substantive Representation In The National And Local Governments Of The Dominican Republic, Marcial Amaury Pineda Moquete

Dissertations

Although women's political representation has increased during the first part of the twenty-first century, the number of female politicians in legislative assemblies worldwide remains low. When well-designed and enforced, gender quota laws can increase women's representation. In tum, the election of female politicians brings about better outcomes for women. Further, female politicians elected by quota are likely to feel more committed to representing women than counterparts elected without quotas. This study tests whether and how quota-elected women can represent women's interests better than men and women elected without quotas. Using the rare natural experiment of the Dominican Republic's Congress and …

Parametric Characteristics Of The B6omsi-Re, Sarahelizabeth Janemarie Baguhn

Dissertations

Orientation and mobility specialists for young children who are blind or visually impaired have relied on informal assessments or commercially available tools designed for sighted children to track developmental progress. When Bradley-Johnson (1994) literally wrote the book on assessment in blindness, the sharing and refinement of common tools led to professionals working in teams to sift and winnow the checklists, and move the best available tools into wider circulation. This has led to the evolution of the practitioner made tools becoming the published tools, although they have not yet had statistical evidence to support their efficacy. This three-paper dissertation aims …

Advanced Risk Models To Predict Surgical Site Infections Using Machine Learning Approaches And Risk-Adjusted Control Charts, Rabia Emhamed Al Mamlook

Dissertations

Even though most infections are treatable with antibiotics, Surgical Site Infections (SSIs) remain a significant healthcare problem as they increase hospital stays, require additional treatments, reduce a patient’s quality of life, and increase morbidity and mortality. To reduce the risks and to encourage the highest quality healthcare, it is important to measure, predict, and monitor the risk of SSIs. Preoperative prediction of SSIs is essential to facilitate the implementation of preventative strategies for high-risk patients. The overarching goal of this dissertation is to investigate new opportunities of using machine-learning (ML) to improve the accuracy and use of pre-operative prediction models …

Blood Pressure Management And Factors Affecting Adherence To Antihypertensive Medications In The United Arab Emirates, Akshaya Srikanth Bhagavathula

Dissertations

Hypertension is a significant public health problem worldwide and is a major modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The dynamics of guidelines-recommended blood pressure (BP) control and adherence to antihypertensive medications in incident hypertensives remain unclear. This dissertation aims to assess guidelines-recommended BP management, adherence to antihypertensive medications, and factors associated with poor BP control among newly diagnosed hypertensive patients in the UAE. A retrospective chart review of 5308 newly treated hypertensives across the emirate of Abu Dhabi, UAE, in 2017 was conducted. These patients were diagnosed by the treating physician according to ambulatory (ABPM), or home-based BP monitoring (HBPM) …

Toward The Micro-Foundations Of Environmental Sustainability: Fostering Pro-Environmental Behavior Among Employees To Boost Corporate Environmental Performance In The United Arab Emirates, Tareq Zaal Al-Ali

Dissertations

Today, the world is still struggling to find ways to control pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and climate change. Consequently, environmental sustainability has become an essential concept in the global business environment. This study examined the factors that can influence the environmental sustainability performance of organizations. While previous studies have examined the role of regulatory frameworks, industry standards, innovation, and the use of clean technologies in achieving environmental sustainability, little attention has been paid to the role of employees in improving a company's environmental performance. This study examined how employees' pro-environmental beliefs and behaviors are triggered in the workplace. It then …

Multi Stage Modified Solvay Process For Co2 Capture And Reject Brine Desalination, Ameera Fares Mohammad

Dissertations

Brine management is an environmental concern, as many desalination plants need to find suitable approaches for the treatment or disposal of the large amounts of concentrated brine that are produced. Many conventional methods are used such as disposal through deep well injection, but these methods still suffer from many drawbacks. An alternative approach is to further process the brine by extracting the salts through reactions with carbon dioxide. The chemical reactions of reject brine with high alkalinity products and carbon dioxide are postulated to constitute a new, effective, economic and environmentally friendly approach. On the other hand, a major challenge …

The Experience Of Nursing Care For Female Medicaid Recipients, Sara K. Kaylor

Dissertations

This phenomenological study is guided by a feminist-informed critical theory for the purpose of exploring the experiences of nursing care for female Medicaid recipients. The goals of this research were to understand how nurses' attitudes and behaviors towards female Medicaid recipients influence the ways in which these patients receive and act upon their health care, and to consider what those understandings suggest for nursing education. Semi-structured interviews with female Medicaid recipients were conducted to understand their experiences of nursing care, and a focus group interview with nurse educators was conducted to consider what those understandings suggest for nursing education.

Current …

Experiencing Narrative Pedagogy, Wendy S. Bowles

Dissertations

The role of the nurse has changed dramatically in the past twenty years with increasing complexity of patient care and a rapidly changing health care environment. In addition to the challenges noted regarding patient care, problems with increasing medical errors were noted in the literature specific to graduates in their first year as a nurse. Research in particular to nursing education provides a way for nurse educators to become more astute at addressing problems pervading the role of the new nursing graduate. Narrative Pedagogy was identified as a research-based nursing pedagogy and has been researched and enacted for more than …

National Council Licensure Examination For Registered Nurses (Nclex-Rn®) Success: Perceptions Of Accelerated Second-Degree Bachelor Of Science In Nursing Students, Vicki L. Brzoza

Dissertations

Most of the 50 states in the United States (U.S.) will experience a significant nursing shortage by the year 2030. Research finds that a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) workforce is associated with better outcomes, fewer adverse events, and lower patient mortality than associate or diploma prepared nurses. BSN-prepared nurses are in great demand, and the accelerated second-degree bachelor of science in nursing (ABSN) programs may meet this need. This study investigates how to be successful in these ABSN programs. The purpose of this study was to describe the ABSN students' perceptions and experiences of what they believe to …

Reducing Violence In The Emergency Department, Improving Perception Of Safety: An Aggression Prevention Team Approach, Marilyn Riley

Dissertations

Acts of aggression towards nurses has reached never-before-seen levels in Emergency Departments (ED) across the United States (US), and it increases by 15% or more every year. Nurses and ED staff are subjected to violent patients, daily. Nurses often do not feel they have the skills to intervene safely when patients become aggressive, and these behaviors can escalate to harmful levels. Nurses must have a safe environment to practice; therefore, it is imperative violence stops. This DNP project implements an Aggression Prevention Team (APT) to respond in the ED when patients or visitors become aggressive and to improve the nurses' …

Be Resilient: Examining The Relationship Between Staff Nurse Incivility And Undergraduate Nursing Students' Sense Of Belonging To The Nursing Profession, Sarah E. Patel

Dissertations

Sense of belonging is essential for nursing students to develop and grow within the nursing profession. Unfortunately, incivility threatens the sense of belonging in nursing students.

The purpose of this cross-sectional study is to determine the relationship between staff nurse incivility and undergraduate nursing students' sense of belonging in nursing school, describe the presence of incivility in minority undergraduate nursing students, and determine how semester in the nursing program and weight are associated with incivility and sense of belonging. Baumeister and Leary's (1995) need to belong theory was chosen as the framework for this study.

The Impact Of Cancer Caregiving On Cancer Caregivers: Stories Of Lives In Transition, Cynthia M. Steinwedel

Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to examine the impact of cancer caregiving on primary caregivers, exploring their personal narratives looking back on the entire experience from diagnosis, through treatment, and beyond. Caregiving is associated with exacerbation of stress-related disorders such as hypertension and heart disease and may also be associated with increased mortality rates. Transitions theory served as the conceptual framework for the study.

A Grounded Theory Study Of Nurse Advocacy In Health Policy, Marilyn Longo Dollinger

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore how effectively nurses function as advocates in the federal health policy process, understanding their perspectives, their strategies, and tactics. This study examined how nurses in legislative and administrative positions advance health policy or regulatory issues that are important to health care or the nursing profession. Although nurses have a long history of social and political activism, little is known about their effectiveness in achieving favorable policy outcomes. The researcher interviewed 11 registered nurses who had experience as staff in government offices, committees, or federal agencies to learn what processes, tactics, and strategies …

The Lived Experience Of Giving Spiritual Care, Belinda J. Deal

Dissertations

Health care researchers have suggested a correlation between better mental and physical health and a person's spirituality or religious practices (Koenig, 2002). Indeed, using spiritual and religious resources gives patients and families strength to cope during a crisis (Kloosterhouse & Ames, 2000). Given that little is known about nurses' experiences with spiritual care, one wonders how spiritual care is given (Taylor, 2005), what the experience means to nurses, and how the experience affects nurses and their future actions. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore nurses' lived experience of giving spiritual care in order to know more about …

Experiences Of African American Students In Pre-Licensure Schools Of Nursing: A Qualitative Descriptive Study, Barbara Jean White

Dissertations

Despite more than 40 years of research and governmental support, African Americans continue to be underrepresented in the nursing profession compared to the population it serves. Though some progress has been made over the past 20 years, the American Nurses Association (ANA), American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), National Black Nurses Association (NBNA) and Institute of Medicine (IOM) continue to identify increasing diversity as a disciplinary priority. Further understanding of the experiences of African American nursing students is needed to inform decisions about recruitment, retention and successful matriculation of these students. This qualitative descriptive study focused on understanding the …

Teaching The Esl Nursing Student: The Relationship Between Nurse Educator Background Attributes, Beliefs Concerning The Esl Nursing Student And Instructional Strategies Used By Nurse Educators, Bonnie L. Fuller

Dissertations

As the U.S. population quickly moves toward linguistic diversity, it is essential that sufficient numbers of linguistically diverse nurses be available to provide care, and nurse educators play a significant role in the preparation of these nurses. Little information was found in the literature about factors that influence the practices of the nurse educator related to teaching the nursing student who has English as a second language (ESL). The purpose of this research study was to investigate the factors related to teaching ESL nursing students from the perspective of the nurse educator. A pilot study was conducted to validate the …

Phenomenological Study Of Nurses' Perceptions And Lived Experiences Of Quality And Safety, Conchita Sunico Freitag

Dissertations

Maintaining quality and safety has become one of the major problems of healthcare organizations affecting patient satisfaction scores. Nurses are essential in promoting quality and safety. To achieve quality and safety, nurses tend to focus on clinical aspects of care and place personal needs of patients as least priorities. However, literature showed that patients perceive quality care as meeting their personal needs and demands rather than their clinical conditions. There were limited studies that considered nurses' perceptions of quality and safety, most studies were patients' perceptions and satisfactions focused. Conflicting opinions from nurses' and patients' perspectives as well as limited …

Complementary And Alternative Modalities Used By Women With Female-Specific Cancers, Valerie S. Eschiti

Dissertations

In this cross-sectional, retrospective, explanatory secondary analysis of the 2002 National Health Interview Survey, complementary and alternative modality (CAM) use and high-risk CAM use by women with female-specific cancers is described. Review of CAM literature was employed to compare CAM use by these women to other groups. Based on a purposive sample of 689 women in the United States with female-specific cancers, this sample is representative of 4,128,720 women. Of these, 3,341,373 (80.9%) used CAM therapies. There were 1,030,941 women (25%) who used high risk CAM therapies, such as herbs and megavitamins, which may interact negatively with Western biomedical treatments. …

Social Work Junior Faculty Perceptions Of Their Doctoral Level Teaching Preparation, Marissa Hardwrict

Dissertations

Each year, hundreds of students graduate with a terminal degree. Many have aspirations to teach at a college or university. This includes graduates of social work programs. However, little information is known about the experiences of teaching readiness of social work Ph.D. graduates. The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of social work junior faculty and their perceptions of readiness to teach. Literature reporting on the curriculum in Social Work Ph.D. Programs are linked to students being developed and heavily engulfed in research activities (Acquavita & Tice, 2015; Dinerman et al., 1999; Reneau, 2011). Since many programs …

Surfing Without Water: College Students Who Experience Homelessness, Melissa Scheer, Deidra C. Thomas-Murray

Dissertations

This study explores the educational experiences and needs of college students experiencing homelessness from the St. Louis metropolitan area. Research has shown that youth experiencing homelessness have difficulties entering college, remaining in college, and graduating from college (School House Connections, 2020). Difficulty accessing services and support coupled with prejudice, discrimination, and lack of knowledge can be detrimental to the homeless students’ academic performance (Svokos, 2015). The purpose of this study is to investigate issues of homelessness in higher education as experienced by independent college students identified as homeless in high school and explore the types of support universities offer via …

The Leader In Me And Its Effects On School Culture And Leadership, Amber J. Sainz

Dissertations

The Leader in Me is a school transformation process that focuses on teaching and embedding Stephen Covey’s (2004) seven habits into the school day. The seven habits are a framework and process for transforming school culture but are not taught as a scripted curriculum (Covey et al., 2014). This mixed-methods study was designed to analyze the perceptions of elementary teachers, counselors, and principals regarding the Leader in Me process and to look at its effects on school culture and leadership. Surveys were sent to teachers and counselors in three Missouri elementary schools who had implemented the Leader in Me for …

Barriers Teaching Environmental Justice Education, Jodi Devonshire

Dissertations

The idea of freedom in education has its roots in the social justice movements of the 1950s and 60s. Civil rights groups coalesced independently of other marginalized groups and movements of its time. While similar in nature, environmentalism and civil rights issues rarely crossed paths. As environmentalism made its way into science education and curriculum, social justice issues were restricted to historical perspectives in education. This research initially sought to create an understanding of purpose driven, social justice conscious, Environmental Education as it is related to marginalized learners and identify the barriers of creating and implementing culturally relevant environmental education …

The Response Of A Rural Missouri Middle School To The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Case Study Of Instruction, Communication, And Access To Technology, Christian Scott Meier

Dissertations

The doors of a rural Missouri middle school were closed in mid-March for what turned out to be the remainder of the 2019‒2020 school year (Schremp Hahn, 2020). Many schools were unprepared for the swift nature with which the shutdowns occurred (Bernhard, 2020a). The purpose of this case study was to examine the opinions and perceptions of parents, teachers, and the principal at a Missouri middle school regarding the school’s response to the COVID-19 closure to determine the best possible strategies for mitigating learning loss during future extended closures. The summer slide was the lens through which the study was …