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The Therapeutic Effects Upon Dog Owners Who Interact With Their Dogs In A Mindful Way, Amy Jackson-Grossblat

Dissertations

Problem. For many in contemporary culture, the pursuit of possession has become an attempt to achieve happiness. However, this path may not always be congruent with psychological well-being. In addition, this path may lead us further away from relationships within the natural world. Humanistic and existential psychologists have suggested that a mindful connection to ourselves, to other-than-human beings, and to the natural world would enable more meaningful lives. If dogs are considered an extension of nature and those interactions between dog and owner that promote mindfulness are examined, there is the potential to obtain a better understanding of how individuals …

The Impact Of Family, Community, And Resilience On African-American Young Adults Who Had Parents Incarcerated During Childhood, Marilyn Diana Ming

Dissertations

Problem. Parental incarceration affects millions of children, and their numbers continue to rise. By losing their parents, children can be exposed to unique risks, relative to the separation. Many children face family structure disintegration, and this can be so disruptive that their normal development is impaired. Evidence suggests that children are impacted psychologically, socially, and financially. The result is the display of problematic behavior, being aggressive or withdrawn at home and in their communities. The concentration of the incarceration trends seems to be in poor African-American communities. Incarceration has left higher numbers of children without parents, making the collateral damage …

Examining The Influence Of Dependent Demand Arrivals On Patient Scheduling, Husniyah B. Abdus-Salaam

Dissertations

This research examines the influence of batch appointments on patient scheduling systems. Batch appointments are characterized by multiple patients within a family desiring appointments within the same time frame. These patients are considered to be dependent amongst each other within the batch request for both arrival and no-shows. Three models are proposed to further understand the impact of these dependent demand arrivals. First, a multivariate statistical model is developed to understand the behavior of patients at public and private dental clinics. Results indicate that approximately 42% of all appointments are associated with a batch request. Also, there is a dependency …

Characterization Of Nanoparticle-Induced Airway Oxidant Stress And The Antioxidant Effects Of Sorrel (Hibiscus Sabdariffa): An Omics Approach, Christa Young Watson

Dissertations

Nanotoxicology is the study of the potential toxic effects of anthropogenic and biogenic nanostructures on living organisms. The influence of nanostructures such as nanoparticles on the human airway has gained interest due to increased susceptibility of translocation into other regions of the body. Adverse effects such as oxidative stress and inflammation have been found after the inhalation of airborne nanoparticles in airway epithelial cells. Oxidative stress and inflammation in mice models have been attenuated through the consumption of antioxidant containing plant compounds called phytochemicals. In this dissertation, we have evaluated the hypothesis that nanoparticles regardless of origin can elicit oxidative …

Investigating The Influence Of Organic Acids On Uraninite Solubility And Uranyl Sorption Onto Kaolinite, Michelle L. Barger

Dissertations

Within anoxic near surface aqueous settings where U0_2(S) may be released an opportunity to encounter and complex with organic acids may occur. Reactions between U0_2(S) and ligands may promote the solubility and mobility of uranium. Organic ligands investigated in the dissolution work include citric acid, NTA and EDTA. Exposure to the ligands had little effect on U0_2(S) solubility. The log activity of U0_2(S) hydrolysis under reduced conditions was -6.56. Under all measured conditions of ligand concentration, the data consistently show an increase in uranium concentration to a median log U activity of -4.89. The observed solubility …

A Study To Determine The Influence Of Workload On Nursing Personnel, Supreeta G. Amin

Dissertations

The alarming number of adverse medical events and associated costs have placed immense importance toward the safety and health of both patients and medical personnel. A shrinking nurse workforce, an aging patient and nursing population coupled with a mismatch between hospital demands and the available nursing staff have created a situation detrimental to both patient and nursing personnel. Long working hours, working more than one job, low staffing ratios, high patient acuity, minimal social support, low experience level, complicated equipment, complex procedures and varying workload are some factors that may have a negative impact on the quality of care provided …

Leach-Sm: A Protocol For Extending Wireless Sensor Network Lifetime By Management Of Spare Nodes, Bilal Abu Bakr

Dissertations

Operational lifetime of a wireless sensor network (WSN) depends on its energy resources. Significant improvement of WSN lifetime can be achieved by adding spare sensor nodes to WSN. Spares are ready to be switched on when any primary (a node that is not a spare) exhausts its energy. A spare replacing a primary becomes a primary itself.

The LEACH-SM protocol (Low-Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy with Spare Management) proposed by us is a modification of the prominent LEACH protocol. LEACH extends WSN lifetime via rotation of cluster heads but allows for inefficiencies due to redundant sensing target coverage. There are two …

Contemporary Clothing Issues Of Women Who Are Post-Mastectomy, Carol Beard

Dissertations

The intent of this three-paper format dissertation is to examine three topics germane to the clothing requirements and clothing acquisition of women who are postmastectomy. Each paper’s focus resides within a broader theme of addressing a population that has specialized clothing needs. While each study is independent in nature, they build on each other. The first paper describes the demographics of the population and how those demographics and treatment path for breast cancer provide a different framework for reaction to the retail offerings currently on the market. The next paper focuses on the association between demographics and treatment path of …

Experiences That Influence A Student's Choice On Majoring In Physics, Donya Rae Dobbin

Dissertations

Currently the production of college graduates with science and engineering degrees is insufficient to fill the increasing number of jobs requiring these skills. This study focuses on physics majors with an in-depth examination of student transitions from high school to college. Many different areas of influence could affect a student's decision to major in physics. The first phase of this study addresses all of the potential areas of influence identified from the literature. The goal was to identify common influences that might be used to increase students' interest in majoring in physics. Subjects (N=35) from the first phase were recruited …

The Impact Of Structured Group Counseling On Resiliency, Self-Efficacy, And Racialidentity Among African American Female Teenagers, Lashonda B. Fuller

Dissertations

African American female teenagers are at-risk for low academic achievement as well as personal and social problems. These concerns have the potential to impact their psychological development including resiliency, self-efficacy, and racial identity. This is an issue that needs focused attention. Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation was to determine if a structured group counseling model effectively impacts African American female teenagers‟ resiliency, self-efficacy, and racial identity. The researcher conducted four structured counseling groups over a period of 20 weeks; however, the teenagers participated in consecutive 10 week sessions. The treatment was applied to two groups simultaneously, and the groups …

Evaluation Of Verbal Behavior In Older Adults, Amy Gross

Dissertations

Older adults make up a large and increasing portion of the population (U.S. apply those assessments to the evaluation of verbal behavior in older adults with and without dementia. The research addressed two questions. First, in what way do verbal behavior problems differ between older adults with and without dementia? Second, does language deteriorate in a pattern compatible with Skinner's analysis of functionally independent verbal operants? Thirty-one participants were categorized into Control (n=15) and Dementia (n=16) Groups based on their score on the Dementia Rating Scale-2. Verbal behavior assessments were administered to participants on two occasions, separated by one week. …

Exploring The Well-Being Of Foster Children Of Parents With Substance Abuse Problems In Family Dependency Treatment Courts, Barbara M. Howes

Dissertations

The aim of this three-paper format dissertation is to explore how the well-being of foster children of parents with substance abuse problems is defined and promoted through Family Dependency Treatment Courts (FDTC) within the context of the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA). The benefit to the author of the three-paper method is the task of submitting the findings of the study for publication is eased as the dissertation contains three stand-alone articles. A drawback for the reader of the three paper method is that there is redundancy in reading the same sections in each paper. The reader is encouraged …

The Picture Exchange Communication System: Digital Photographs Versus Picture Symbols, Carmen Jonaitis

Dissertations

The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is an augmentative and alternative system (AAC) used to improve and increase communication for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and other developmental disorders. Research addressing the efficacy of this system is increasing; however, there is limited information published that evaluates the picture type used for PECS instruction. A single-subject alternating treatments design was used to examine the role of iconicity, or how closely a symbol resembles its referent, in the acquisition of picture discrimination in the third phase of PECS. The purpose of this study was to compare how well children were able …

The Relationship Between Spirituality And Personality, Kimberly C. Koessel

Dissertations

Current literature is lacking a theoretical framework for understanding spirituality within the context of psychological functioning. Despite empirical support for the potential psychological benefits of spirituality, conceptual differences underlying definitions and measurements of spirituality have impeded theory development. Additionally, very few studies have explored spirituality from a secular perspective. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the relationship between spirituality and personality within a population of undergraduate and graduate students. This research obtains sample data through a demographic questionnaire, a measure of humanistic spirituality, and an inventory of normal personality. Quantitative statistical analyses are employed to explore a variety …

An Exploration Of Worldview And Conceptions Of Nature Of Science Among Science Teachers At A Private Christian High School, Kara M. Kits

Dissertations

Both worldview and conceptions of nature of science (NOS) are important components in teaching and learning science. However, few empirical studies have examined the interplay between both of these components for teachers or students. Therefore, this study examines the possible relationship between worldview and conceptions of nature of science for secondary science teachers who currently teach at a Christian school.

Qualitative methodologies developed a rich description of the worldview beliefs and conceptions of NOS for teachers in this study. Eight secondary science teachers employed at a private Christian school participated in the study. A Views of Nature of Science (VNOS) …

Reluctant To Report: The Mandated Reporting Practices Of Child Care Providers, Aileen Mckenna

Dissertations

Child care providers spend far more time with children under age 3, the most likely to suffer severe and fatal abuse and neglect, than any other mandated reporter. Their close relationship with both the child and the family places them in a unique position to observe signs and suspicions of abuse or neglect and to make timely reports to Child Protective Services (CPS). Yet despite this, child care providers rank last among mandated reporters in both reporting suspicions of abuse and neglect and in actual substantiated reports. Only a handful of studies have looked specifically at the decision-making practices of …

Robust Adaptive Scheme For Linear Mixed Models, Gabriel Asare Okyere

Dissertations

If the underlying distribution of a statistical model is known then a procedure which maximizes power and efficiency can be selected. For example, if the distribution of errors is known to be normal in a linear model then inference based on least squares maximizes power and efficiency. More generally, if this distribution is known then a ranked based inference based on the appropriate rank score function has maximum efficiency. In practice, though, this distribution is not known. Adaptive schemes are procedures which hopefully select appropriate methods to optimize the analysis.

Hogg (1974) presented an adaptive rank-based scheme for testing in …

The Bandi Of Northwestern Liberia: A Study Of Change And Continuityin Bandi Society To 1964, Samuel Benedict Ngovo

Dissertations

Relying on oral accounts and archival and published sources, this dissertation employed interdisciplinary methodology to examine change and continuity in traditional Bandi systems to 1964. It focuses on traditional Bandi social, religious, economic and political systems that changed and those that persisted as a result of contacts with neighboring ethnic groups, Islam, Christianity, and the Liberian state.

The Bandi of northwestern Liberia are divided into six subgroups. Nevertheless, the six subgroups of Bandi share common traditional values. The Bandi people belong to the Mande-linguistic group and share common traditional values with neighboring Mande speakers such as the Loma and Mende. …

African American Experiences Of Race Relations In The Supervision Dyad, Brandi L. Pritchett-Johnson

Dissertations

Everything we do is embedded within multiple contexts of collective and individual historical events that culminate in present day encounters. As an increasing number of racial minorities have entered the ranks as mental health practitioners, the configuration of the treatment and the supervision dyad has changed (Owens-Patterson, 2002). The fundamental aim of this study explored, captured, and described the supervision experience from the nuanced perspective of African American supervisors. A qualitative approach was employed using in-depth interviews to capture the complexity of race relations within the supervision dyad through an African Centered framework, aiding in our understanding of supervised training …

Short-Term Nicotine Abstinence And Decision Making, Gabriel D. Searcy

Dissertations

Research has shown that acute drug administration may affect impulsivity (i.e., choice for small, immediate rewards over large, delayed rewards) on laboratory delay-discounting tasks. Few studies have investigated how drug abstinence affects impulsivity. Investigating how drug abstinence affects impulsivity may be relevant to preventing relapse. Two previous studies have investigated the effects of short-term nicotine abstinence on impulsivity using delay-discounting tasks. The results were mixed, one study suggested that choices became more impulsive (i.e., delayed money was devalued) under nicotine deprivation. One goal of the present research was to further investigate how nicotine deprivation affects delay-discounting for money rewards. In …

Examination Of Anxiety And Substance Use Symptoms In Trauma Exposed Versus Environmentally Stressed College Students, Theresa M. Souza

Dissertations

Anxiety is a common problem among the college population, which rarely occurs in isolation. Oftentimes, an individual abuses substances in an attempt to eliminate the short term affect of these conditions. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), is the most persistent and severe type of anxiety disorder. It has been a long-standing belief within the psychological community that in order for PTSD to develop, the individual must first experience a traumatic event which meets certain criteria and must evidence a definable emotional response during the event. A recent study found PTSD in individuals who had not experienced the type of trauma …

Reading, Writing, And Repetition: Performance On Nonword Measures Bystudents With And Without Language-Learning Disabilities, Patricia J. Tattersall

Dissertations

The central purpose of this three-paper dissertation was to explore the ability of school-age children with and without language-learning disabilities (LLD) to apply sound/word level structure knowledge when performing speaking, spelling, and reading tasks. Data came from a larger investigation that used stratified sampling to create two ability groups—children with typical language (TL) and with LLD—comparable in terms of age (range 6 through 18 years), sex, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.

The central purpose of this three-paper dissertation was to explore the ability of school-age children with and without language-learning disabilities (LLD) to apply sound/word level structure knowledge when performing speaking, …

Latina Women’S Reasons For And Experience Of Sexual Assault Disclosure: A Qualitative Investigation, Melissa Villarreal

Dissertations

This study describes Latina women’s experiences of sexual assault disclosure. The research questions are: (1) What reasons do Latinas give for choosing to disclose, not to disclose, or to delay disclosure of their experiences of sexual assault? (2) Can patterns be detected regarding to whom Latinas disclose and under what circumstances? (3) What feelings and consequences do Latinas remember experiencing during their initial disclosure? (4) In retrospect, how do Latinas interpret their self-disclosure decisions? Participants for this study agreed to be interviewed about their sexual assault experiences. Seven interviews were gathered in 2005 and six in 2011. A constant comparison …

Exploring The Experiences Of Living With A Controversial Illness In Patients With Fibromyalgia, Samantha L. Wheeler

Dissertations

Fibromyalgia is an illness of great controversy estimated to affect approximately 4% of the US population. There are no widely accepted etiological causes or clear physiological explanations of fibromyalgia. Only a few research studies have addressed the concept of illness uncertainty in patients with fibromyalgia. There are no current studies that examine how fibromyalgia patients experience, perceive, and understand their illness in terms of having a syndrome with an unknown etiology.

This qualitative study, using phenomenological methods, explored the concept of unknown etiology as one factor in illness uncertainty. Ten participants, diagnosed with fibromyalgia from 2-15 years were interviewed. The …

Effectiveness Of A Motivational Enhancement Group Treatment In A Community Treatment Program With A Substance Abusing Population, Matthew S. Willerick

Dissertations

Motivational interviewing (MI) is a directive, client-centered intervention to elicit behavior change by assisting clients in the exploration and resolution of ambivalence toward change. MI-inspired approaches have been used in an attempt to facilitate change in a wide variety of domains including alcohol and drug abuse, safe water handling practices, dual diagnoses, gambling, spousal abuse, health related areas, mood and anxiety disorders, and parental engagement. MI seeks to resolve ambivalence in the direction of change by increasing the client's self-efficacy. This is accomplished by combining clientcentered (e.g., reflective listening) and directive strategies (e.g., attending selectively to change statements). The origins …

The Experiences Of Married International Graduate Students And Their Accompanying Non-Student Spouses In The Us Culture: A Qualitative Study, Adriana Yellig

Dissertations

Many studies document the experiences of single international students in the U.S. culture. However, little is known about the experiences of married international students, their marital relationships, and the experiences of their accompanying nonstudent spouses in the U.S. culture.

This qualitative phenomenological study focused on the experiences of married international graduate students and their accompanying spouses in the U.S. culture. Additionally, the study explored the impact of cultural influences on the participants' marital relationships, as well as the impact of marriage on their adjustment to the culture.

The study included twenty participants (ten couples) from a range of countries, most …

Molecular, Cellular And Systemic Effects Of Atrazine On The Xenopus Laevis Tadpole, Renee Maryanne Zaya

Dissertations

Atrazine is one of the two most commonly used herbicides in the US and it is the most studies are among the first to link physiological effects of atrazine to changes in tissue and gene expression in Xenopus laevis tadpoles. These studies provide the groundwork for future studies into the mechanisms behind responses to chemical stressors generating data resulting in a better understanding of how these chemicals affect us all. commonly found herbicide in ground water. As a result, a great deal of attention has been placed on its use and safety. It has also been implicated to play a …

Leadership For Social Change: Learning From Latina/Chicana Activist Educators, Marcia Venegas-García Phd

Dissertations

An examination of the literature in the field of Leadership Studies exposes a void in understanding activism as leadership among Latinas/Chicanas. The contemporary theories of scholars including James MacGregor Burns (1978) and Joseph C. Rost (1993) suggest there may be shared qualities between specific concepts of leadership and the everyday working practices of Latina/Chicana activist educators. Yet, academics within the field of Leadership Studies have little knowledge of this relationship or the unique ways in which Latina/Chicana educators engage as leaders, activists and agents for change, specifically in educational communities. Research into women's studies, ethnic studies, and Chicana feminist studies …

Learning Organization Principles: The Impact On A Midwest State Government As Perceived By Its Employees, Rosalee Billingslea Rush

Dissertations

This study sought to determine the extent to which learning organization constructs influence performance in state government. The overarching purpose was to examine the relationship between Peter Senge’s five learning disciplines and organizational performance.

The study utilized an ex post facto survey design. The sample population was composed of supervisors and professional and administrative staff within the 19 agencies of a Midwestern state government. Participants were administered an instrument that asked them to rate their perception of the organization and its performance along seven dimensions of learning. Of the randomly selected 381 participants, 110 (or 28.9%) returned the survey instrument. …

Negotiating Generational Conflict And Identity Formation As A Way To Self Actualization In Contemporary Arab American Women's Literature, Hassan Ali Abdullah Al-Momani

Dissertations

This study focuses on identity formation in three contemporary Arab American women's novels: Alicia Erian's Towelhead, a text written specifically for young adults, Laila Halaby's West of the Jordan, a novel that has been read and embraced by Arab American young adults, and Evelyn Shakir's Remember Me to Lebanon, a text that features a number of Arab American young adult protagonists. Central to my project is the question of how Arab American female protagonists negotiate a space for themselves within the power structure of their families and their communities in order to forge bi-cultural identities. The first and second chapters …