Digital Commons Network^™

Airspace Analysis For Greener Operations: Towards More Adoptability And Predictability Of Continuous Descent Approach (Cda), Emad Ali Alharbi

Dissertations

Continuous Descent Approach (CDA), also known as Optimized Profile Descent (OPD), is the advanced flight technique for commercial aircraft to descend continuously from cruise altitude to Final Approach Fix (FAF) or touchdown without level-offs and with- or near-idle thrust setting. Descending using CDA, aircraft stays as high as possible for longer time thereby expanding the vertical distance between aircraft's sources of noise and ground, and thus significantly reducing the noise levels for populated areas around airports. Also, descending with idle engines, fuel burn is reduced resulting in reduction of harmful emissions to the environment and fuel consumption to air carriers. …

Novel Membrane Structures For Air And Water Purification, Smruti Ragunath

Dissertations

Membrane separations have undergone rapid developments in recent years. The key component in the process is the membrane itself which acts as a selective barrier regulating transport of components between the two sections. The main advantage of membrane separation process in comparison to other unit operations is its unique separation principle, ease of operation, lower energy requirement, and can be easily coupled with other downstream processes. Different membrane based applications include filtration, osmosis, dialysis, gas separation, pervaporation, membrane extraction and membrane distillation (MD). The membranes can be fabricated by a variety of processes such as phase inversion, sol-gel, track etching, …

A Novel Approach To Increase Upper Extremity Active Range Of Motion For Individuals With Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Using Admittance Control, Madeline Catherine Corrigan

Dissertations

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a neuromuscular disease with a prevalence of 1 in 3,500-5,000 male births, results in progressive muscle weakness causing loss of independence and imposing the demands of costly and intrusive assistive support and personal care for daily living tasks. Upper extremity function begins to decline while ambulation is still possible and gradually progresses with time, playing a prominent role in loss of independence. Importantly, upper extremity functional limitations exist despite residual muscle strength that is insufficient to lift the arms against gravity. Presently, there exist a number of commercially available assistive devices aimed at augmenting upper extremity …

The Lived Experience Of Registered Nurses Caring For Patient Living With Hiv/Aids In Broward County, Florida: A Phenomenological Inquiry, Archimore Alexander Wright

Dissertations

Vulnerability, opportunistic infections, and infection-related illnesses, caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIF), progressively overwhelms the human immune system resulting in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to slowly and non-discriminately spread continentally with dramatic consequences on the life expectancy of anyone who develops this pervasive illness/disease. The virus, HIV, is well documented and is commonly transmitted through risky behaviors of human contact, and if left unattended and untreated, leaves a path of destruction an devastation of monumental proportions. HIV/AIDS dramatically leads to long struggles and concerns for human rights and end-of-life (EOL) care.

The purpose of this …

Nurse Resilience: Implications On Critical Care Nurse Shortage And Proposed Intervention, Barbara Diane Ward

Dissertations

Critical care nursing is experiencing a high turnover and a global shortage crisis. The number of critical care nurses (CCNs) leaving the critical care environment is at an unprecedented high rate, negatively impacting the quality of care for the most critically ill of patients. It is not known if and to what extent CCNs resiliency is affected by self-care and how it is associated with compassion satisfaction, interprofessional relationships, professional quality of life, psychological and psychosocial impairment (PPI), or intent to leave the critical care specialty area. The purpose of this quantitative, cross-sectional, descriptive project was to ascertain if the …

Use Of Simulation Within Nursing Education To Assist Students To Meet Standardized Test Plan Components, Christina Liebrecht

Dissertations

Medication errors within the United States healthcare system have been identified as a persistent issue contributing to extended hospital stays, increased healthcare costs, poorer patient outcomes including death, and lack of trust in the healthcare system. Medication errors can occur at any point in the medication process with nurses playing a crucial role in protecting patient safety during the steps of medication administration and monitoring for drug effects. Study findings indicate that less experienced nurses and student nurses are more likely to make mistakes, citing insufficient or ineffective preparation to administer medications safely. Evidence supports the use of simulation in …

Development Of A Toolkit For Implementation And Evaluation Of The "Hug Your Baby" Program In A Non-Profit Community Setting, Kati Elizabeth Hughes

Dissertations

The use of an implementation Toolkit to reliably translate evidenced based programs into community health provides stability and reliability to the organizations that utilize them. This is important in the realm of implementation science, as reliability improves the chance of continued program sustainability. The HUG Workshop Toolkit provides community outreach organization with the needed materials to implement the HUG Your Baby program in the community. The toolkit developed increased organization volunteer's confidence to teach the HUG Your Baby programin the community and increased parental attendance in an evidenced based parenting program. The use of an implementation Toolkit to reliably …

Relationship Between Health Literacy And Self-Directed Learning Readiness Of Older Adults, Robin Justice Dennis

Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to determine if the health literacy level of older adults, age 65 and older, and the self-directed learning readiness score were correlated. After data cleaning, the number of cases was below the recommended rule of thumb. Deletion of cases indicated by the analyst of the self-directed learning readiness score (SDLRS-ABE), and imputation of missing data on the shortened test of functional health literacy (STOFHLA), limited the number of usable cases for analysis and presented a limitation to this study. A Pearson Correlation was then performed to determine any correlation between the scores on …

William Walker And The Seeds Of Progressive Imperialism: The War In Nicaragua And The Message Of Regeneration, 1855-1860, John J. Mangipano

Dissertations

For a brief period of time, between 1855 and 1857, William Walker successfully portrayed himself to American audiences as the regenerator of Nicaragua. Though he arrived in Nicaragua in June 1855, with only fifty-eight men, his image as a regenerator attracted several-thousand men and women to join him in his mission to stabilize the region. Walker relied on both his medical studies as well as his experience in journalism to craft a message of regeneration that placated the anxieties that many Americans felt about the instability of the Caribbean. People supported Walker because he provided a strategy of regeneration that …

The Influence Of Administrators On Literacy Instruction Through The Promotion And Selection Of Professional Development, Lucy K. Johnston-Josey

Dissertations

Literacy is a key component to success in school and in life. Literacy has been a focus of education since 1965 when President Jimmy Carter announced a “war on poverty.” Since then, history has shown that educators should place an emphasis on literacy within schools. Because literacy is so important, I set out to explore how administrators influence literacy through the promotion and selection of professional development.

Mississippi was chosen as a basis for the study because it falls below the nation in terms of literacy rates on the National Assessment for Educational Progress assessment. Nineteen participants from four school …

Applying Affective Engagement To Change Organizational Culture: A Secondary Analysis Of Sexual Assault Prevention And Reporting Curriculum Outcomes On U.S. Air Force Technical Training Campuses, Stephen Bryce Ellis

Dissertations

Sexual assault, sexual harassment, and unprofessional relationships are inconsistent with U.S. Air Force vision to foster a culture that promotes dignity and respect. These problems reduce military readiness and retention of talented personnel while increasing costs to taxpayers. To combat these problems, the U.S. Air Force revised its sexual assault prevention and reporting curriculum to employ affective engagement techniques at four technical training campuses. Curriculum developers employed plausible vignettes, storytelling, and classroom debate to create an emotional connection to the sexual assault prevention and reporting lessons. The objective of the revised curriculum was to change the organizational culture to one …

Is Human Capital Development The Missing Element Of The Aerotropolis Model?, John Roosevelt Hubbard

Dissertations

Until the early 20th century, transportation by land or water served as the primary methods of trade. As competition in the global marketplace increased in the 21st century air transportation emerged as a new and faster method of trade. Convinced of the economic benefits of air transportation, many policymakers of airport communities were quick to make plans for growth such as building infrastructure around the airport. This aerotropolis model often ignored the human capital development required for success.

Central to this study is this question: Is human capital development the missing component of the aerotropolis model economic development strategy? The …

Optimizing Stadium Evacuation By Integrating Geo-Computation And Affordance Theory, Joslyn Jane Zale

Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to optimize football stadium evacuation time by integrating geo-computation with affordance theory from perceptual psychology to account for evacuee characteristics: age, gender, physical fitness, alcohol consumption, and prior experience attending football games at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM), evacuating from large, outdoor public places, and with hazard events.

According to the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act, football stadiums are part of the country’s critical infrastructure warranting special government protection. Evacuation modeling was identified as an important component of game day emergency …

Groundhogs, Tanya Mason Smith

Dissertations

This dissertation contains a collection of stories that explore loss and grief, illness and disability, parent and child relationships, and marriage and its expectations within the gay community and the south.

The Impact Of Commercial Banking Development On Economic Growth: A Principal Component Analysis Of Association Between Banking Industry And Economic Growth In Europe, Hugh L. Davis Iii

Dissertations

There are significant differences in the economic growth trajectories of Western, Central and Eastern Europe since the beginning of the democratic movements of the early 1990s. It may be observed that the more developed the region, the lower the growth rate. There are a number of explanations for this growth rate variance, e.g. cultural, resources, institutional and/or political. An explanation this research is pursuing is institutional - the correlation between banking development and economic growth. More specifically, does banking development have a greater impact on growth where economic development begins at a lower level?

Very little research has been directed …

Self-Identity And Community Through Social Media: The Experience Of Saudi Female International College Students In The United States, Tahani Obaid Alruwaili

Dissertations

This study examined the role of social media in the lives of Saudi female international college students as they faced issues related to adjusting to living and studying in a culture vastly different from their own. Social media is an increasingly important consideration in literature on self-identity, education, and community. This study employed qualitative interview methods to explore this topic. Fourteen Saudi female international college students living in the United States for three to nine years answered questions about their personal identities in Saudi Arabia and in the United States, their social media use in Saudi Arabia and in the …

Coaches’ Perceptions On The Sustainability Of Select Nonrevenue, Olympic Ncaa Sports As Viewed Through Stakeholder Theory, Dean M. Ekeren

Dissertations

In recent years, increasing revenues to the top NCAA athletic programs has accelerated an athletic “arms race” among universities, where coach salaries escalate, new facilities are built, existing facilities undergo massive renovations, and amenities and services are added for athletes, all to attract top recruits and new donors. Although sponsors and broadcast deals provide huge sources of revenue to these institutions, the majority of athletic departments rely on subsidies from the university to meet the increasing demands required to remain competitively relevant. Many stakeholder groups of intercollegiate athletics are becoming increasingly concerned that the financial pressures associated with sustaining the …

A Mixed-Methods Study Of Students’ Success And Persistence In Biology, Biscah Syombua Munyaka

Dissertations

Undergraduate success and persistence in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields is of critical importance to the United States (U.S.) maintenance of its position as the world leader in scientific innovations. While the total number of undergraduate degrees awarded annually has nearly tripled over the past 40 years, the same cannot be said for the proportion of degrees in Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. The U.S. share of the world’s STEM graduates is sharply declining, on average less than 40% of incoming college freshmen elect to pursue a degree in a STEM field each year, with more …

Click, Explore, And Learn: Graduate Students’ Experiences And Attitudes Toward Using E-Books For College-Level Courses, Rasha Abdulrahman Alhammad

Dissertations

The main purpose of this qualitative research was to explore graduate students’: (a) interpretations of their experiences with the use of e-books for learning; (b) reasons that influence their preference to use e-books or printed books when they learn; (c) perceptions toward e-books impact on learning; (d) perceptions toward the influence of prior technological experience, knowledge, and confidence on opinions and decisionmaking associated with e-books; (e) interpretations of their experiences with the use of a given e-book; and (f) recommendations of changes to e-books to better supporting their learning. Participants were 20 graduate students at one of the midsize universities …

In Line For The Presidency: The American Association Of Community Colleges (Aacc) Leadership Competencies And The Career Development Of Women Leaders In Community College Administration, Autumn Rene Porter

Dissertations

Though women make up the majority of community college students, faculty and staff, only 36% of community college presidents nationwide are female. With a significant number of presidential retirements on the horizon, there could be many opportunities for women in line for a community college presidency to take the next step along their career paths. This study was designed to explore how women in senior-level community college administration have acquired the American Association of Community Colleges leadership competencies throughout their careers and what other influences had impacted their career development. A qualitative, phenomenological design was chosen, and results were examined …

Affective Domain Learning In High-Fidelity Simulation: Students’ Perspectives, Ketty M. Holt

Dissertations

Affective domain learning is an integral element to developing nursing students who can provide holistic, patient-centered nursing care. Often an invisible objective in nursing education, affective learning is rarely described beyond the first two levels of the domain: receiving and responding. In this phenomenological inquiry, the experiences of undergraduate nursing students, while participating in high-fidelity simulation, were examined and described for affective domain learning. In addition, this study compared the descriptions of third- and fourth-year students in an effort to understand the progressive nature of affective learning. Twenty-five third- and fourth-year students from the baccalaureate nursing programs of two universities, …

Experiences Among U.S. Students Of Color, Travel Background, And Cultural Attunement To Intersectionalities In Study Abroad Programs., Jessica Norman

Dissertations

This cohort and event-based case study sought to evaluate the cultural experiences and development of cross cultural intersectionalities in U.S. students of culture participating in a study abroad program to Argentina. Current study abroad outcomes consistently show travel abroad experiences lead to improved cultural awareness, knowledge, understanding and competency. Study abroad programming appears to be an overlooked opportunity for creating positive, long-lasting, transformative change, particularly for under-represented students (Milsen, 2005; Mondard-Weissman, 2003; Hadis, 2005; Van Hoff & Verbee, 2005). Over the last 30 years, international educators have reported positive changes in students after learning abroad; improved in self-awareness, respect for …

Exploring The Experiences And Insights Of A Twice-Exceptional Student Finishing A College Teacher Preparation Program: A Case Study, Hussain Abdullah Alamer

Dissertations

Twice-exceptionality is the phenomenon of a student with one or more disabilities who is also gifted and talented. Identification of twice-exceptionality is difficult and only recently has there been a greater awareness of the needs of twice-exceptional students. There is empirical research about twice-exceptionality but little research exists on how twice-exceptional individuals perceive and attribute meaning to their lived experiences. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the experiences of one university student identified as gifted and learning disabled to understand how personal experiences influenced his identity development, his perspectives on teaching and education, and, ultimately, his …

The Influence Of Participation In Socially Engaging Or Complex Physical Activities On Executive Function Among Older Adults, Lyndsie M. Koon

Dissertations

The preservation of cognitive function is of particular importance for the maintenance of independence and functional autonomy for older adults (Hertzog, Kramer, Wilson, & Lindenberger, 2008). Physical activity is a behavioral intervention that contributes to mental and physical health; it has also been found to promote cognitive function across a lifespan. Cognitive processes that assist with goal-directed behavior to successfully complete everyday tasks known as executive functions are susceptible to physical activity participation especially among youth, adolescent, and older adult populations. Various aspects of the physical activity context might help mediate improvements to executive function including the task complexity of …

Fan Motives For Identifying With Professional Tennis Players, Alex Yakon Rondon-Azcarate

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine motivations used by tennis fans in identifying with professional tennis players and thereby developing fan loyalty and support. No prior work has focused on fan motivations toward individual players in an individual sport. This non-experimental study design used an online survey technique to solicit responses from adult tennis fans through a variety of tennis organizations, tennis clubs, tennis training facilities, and tennis websites and blogs. Surveys responses were solicited from January through February 2017. Of the original 460 total respondents, 28% (n = 101) reported having no favorite professional tennis player and …

Physical Education Teacher Education Student Teaching Placement Procedures, Leann Elizabeth Kesselring

Dissertations

The student teaching experience is widely regarded as the most formative aspect of a teacher preparation program. This practicum is the final opportunity to occupationally socialize a teacher candidate with the attitudes and values of the teacher preparation program. Knowing this, careful selection of student teaching placements is imperative. However, little research has been conducted regarding placement procedures in general teacher education, and even less in physical education teacher education (PETE). The purpose of this paper was to explore placement procedures of PETE teacher candidates in CAEP accredited programs at state classified universities/colleges within the United States. The research was …

Medicaid Expansion, Medicaid Reimbursement Methodologies, And Counselor Employment At Federally Qualified Health Centers, Alison Phillips Sheesley

Dissertations

Advocacy for the counseling profession necessitates a thorough understanding of the factors influencing the hiring and reimbursement of licensed professional counselors. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) enacted several health care reforms that may influence the utilization of mental health services and the employment of mental health professionals. These reforms included the option for states to expand their Medicaid population (effective January 1, 2014), mental health parity requirements for most insurance plans including Medicaid plans, and increased funding for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs or health centers). FQHCs, created by Congress in 1989, provide primary care services, including …

Environmental Contaminant Exposure And Effects On Bats: Studies In Sichuan Province, China And Colorado, U.S.A., Laura Heiker

Dissertations

As the world’s only flying mammals, bats fill an important ecological role in most ecosystems, acting as agents of seed dispersal, pollination, fertilization, and insect control. The human-mediated release of environmental contaminants has been implicated in the decline of many bat populations over the past few decades. Given bats’ ecological significance, I studied how bat presence and activity related to contaminated food and water sources in two global regions: 1) in and around the growing urban city of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, China, and 2) along the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, U.S.A., which has …

Analyzing The Curricula Of Doctor Of Philosophy Programs In Educational Technology And Any Associated Specialty In The United States, Abdullah Almaden

Dissertations

The aim of this research study was to analysis on-campus and online Ph.D. programs in educational technology and any associated specialties in the United States. In particular, it sought to evaluate the most common titles; core, elective, and research courses; structured types of comprehensive examinations; and possible employment opportunities based on program mission statements. The research design for this study was quantitative content analysis. Data for this study were collected from six different sources. The current study found 43 institutions offered campus-based degree programs and four offered online degree programs in educational technology and any associated specialty. In addition, the …

A Multiple Regression Analysis Of Locus Of Control And Psychological Flexibility Regarding The Total Mental Well-Being Of Muslims, Hawazan Abdulaziz Binzaqr

Dissertations

This study was designed to investigate the relationships between mental health, psychological flexibility, and locus of control within the Muslim population, and how these variables are related to demographic characteristics such as gender, level of spirituality, and marital status. The sample of 235 participants was taken from the worldwide adult Muslim population. Mental health was measured by PROMIS-57 survey, psychological flexibility was measured by the AAQ-II survey, and locus of control was measured by the MHLC survey. All data were self-reported via online form. There was an inverse relationship between level of spirituality and poor mental health (high PROMIS-57 scores) …