Digital Commons Network^™

Exemplary Human Resources Administrators Leading Through Storytelling, Colleen Slattery

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand and describe how exemplary human resources administrators use storytelling to lead organizations using Denning’s (2011) model. In addition, it was the purpose to understand how they use storytelling to create transformational change. Denning’s The Leader’s Guide to Storytelling highlights eight storytelling narrative patterns: to ignite action and implement new ideas, build trust, build your organizations’ brand, transmit organizational values, foster collaboration, share knowledge, neutralize rumor, and create and share vision.

Methodology: This phenomenological qualitative study described the lived experiences of exemplary human resources administrators in Northern California. The researcher was …

The Relationship Among Health Locus-Of-Control, Value Of Health, And Health Behavior In Adolescents, Phyllis K. More

Dissertations

This study explores selected personality factors which may explain part of the variance in health behavior in adolescents. Theoretical and empirical evidence suggested that internal health expectancy and high value of health should be related to adolescents' choices of health behavior. Health expectancy was measured by the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scales (Wallston, Wallston & DeVellis, 1978), value of health by the Value Survey (Wallston, Maides & Wallston, 1976), and adolescent health behavior by the Student Lifestyle Survey (McKillip & Taylor, 1979). The Student Lifestyle Survey measures ten components of health behavior as follows: (1) alcohol use, (2) smoking, …

Strategies Exemplary Unified School District Superintendents Use To Work With The Political Styles Of School Board Members, Bradley Tooker

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this sequential explanatory mixed-methods study was to identify the political styles of superintendents and school board members as perceived by unified school district superintendents. In addition, it was the purpose to identify and explain the political strategies unified school district superintendents use to work with the different political styles of school board members.

Methodology: This sequential explanatory mixed-methods study analyzed quantitative surveys to identify the political styles of superintendents and school board members and qualitative interviews to identify political strategies using a political styles framework.

Findings: The major strategies exemplary unified district superintendents used to work …

Integrating Patient Safety In Nursing Education: An Analysis Of Pre-Registration Nursing Curricula In Kenya, Nickcy Nyaruai Mbuthia

Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to investigate the extent to which patient safety concepts were integrated in the Kenyan pre-registration Bachelor of Science in nursing curriculum, and to understand the issues that influence its delivery in the classroom and clinical settings, with the aim of developing strategies that will enhance the integration of patient safety concepts in the curriculum. In the first phase, a qualitative content analysis of the nursing curriculum documents was performed.

Developing A Scale To Measure Responses Of Clients With Actual Or Potential Myocardial Infarctions, Karen Rae Robinson

Dissertations

An assumption in Modeling and Role-Modeling theory is that meeting instinctive needs promotes growth and development across the life span (Erickson, Tomlin, & Swain, 1988). The need for object attachments is one type of need. Loss of an attachment results in the grief process with denial and shock as the first stage. For the coronary client, an acute episode of chest pain may threaten the loss of an attachment object (one's heart function). Determining a coronary client's level of denial is important data and is needed before the nurse can develop individualized interventions to facilitate the client's adaptation. The purpose …

Implementing Screening To Assess Readiness To Change In Overweight And Obese Patients At A Patient-Centered Medical Home, Jarrod Edward Gant

Dissertations

Obesity is at epidemic levels within the United States (U.S.), but the Southern U.S. has some of the most obese states. Mississippi (MS) is the most obese state in the country (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2018). Factors such as diet, sedentary lifestyle, cultural influences, and socioeconomic status contribute to the state's citizens being overweight and obese. Contributing to the state's obesity is the fact that MS has more people living in poverty than any other state (Center for American Progress [CAP], 2018). Lacking the ability to afford healthy foods and the ability to afford quality healthcare adds to the state's …

Exploring How Philippine American Nonprofit Leaders Build Trust With Their Staff And Volunteers, Dominic Fernando Laureano

Dissertations

Purpose: Although a considerable amount of literature exists regarding leadership and trust, little research focuses on Philippine American nonprofit organizations and their leadership. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how Philippine American nonprofit leaders build trust with staff and volunteers using the five domains of competency, consistency, concern, candor, and connection.

Methodology: This phenomenological qualitative study collected data via semi-structured interviews, participant observations, and review of artifacts. The study sample was comprised of 10 Philippine American nonprofit leaders from Southern California. Weisman’s Trust Model served at the theoretical framework of the study and guided data collection and …

A Stylistic Analysis With Performance Suggestions Of Robert Muczynski’S Selected Late Piano Works: Maverick Pieces, Opus 37, Masks, Opus 40, And Dream Cycle, Opus 44, Ji Hyun Kim

Dissertations

Robert Muczynski (1929-2010) was a composer, pianist, and educator whose work is starting to garner more attention and interest from scholars, performers, and audiences.

Muczynski’s musical output covers a variety of genres from works for solo instruments to orchestral works and film scores. He was especially devoted to writing for piano. This is well represented in his musical output. Among his forty-eight compositions with opus numbers, seventeen works are for solo piano. He also wrote a piano concerto (No.1, Op.7), and twelve chamber works featuring the piano. Although his music has increased in popularity, it is less discussed when compared …

Digital Literacy Among Teachers: Identifying Digital Divide Among Interactive Whiteboard Users In Public High Schools, Tammy R. Oatis

Dissertations

Since No Child Left Behind Act pressure has been placed on teachers for higher achievements and accountability. Teachers are required to balance learning and integrating new technology into their curriculum, but not all teachers are. In order for teachers’ to learn how to successfully integrate new technology, they must be motivated to use new technology. This study examines the roles of digital literacy in high schools in order to identify digital divides among Digital Immigrant and Digital Native teachers who teach grades 9^th through 12^th that adopt or choose not to adopt the use IWB. This study investigates …

The Histoplasma Capsulatum Ddr48 Gene Is Required For Survival Within Macrophages And Resistance To Oxidative Stress And Antifungal Drugs, Logan Blancett

Dissertations

Histoplasma capsulatum(Hc)is a systemic, dimorphic fungal pathogen that affects upwards of 500,000 individuals in the United States annually. Hc grows as a multicellular mold at environmental temperatures; whereas, upon inhalation into a human or other mammalian host, it transforms into a unicellular, pathogenic yeast. The research presented in this dissertation is focused on characterizing the DNA damage-responsive gene HcDDR48. HcDDR48was originally isolated via a subtractive DNA library enriched for transcripts enriched in the mold-phase of Hcgrowth. Upon further analysis we found that HcDDR48is not just expressed in the mold morphotype, but both growth programs …

Strategic Hiring And Research Productivity At U.S. Research Universities, David S. Mooneyhan

Dissertations

Research universities provide new knowledge that advance technology and links the United States’ science and knowledge system with the world (Altbach, 2011). Public research universities play a significant role in regional and national economic development. Universities rely on funding from multiple sources to operate effectively. However, in recent years, public research universities in the United States have experienced declines in state funding (Hyman & Jacobs, 2010; Webber, 2017).

To offset declines in funding, public research universities may seek to increase research productivity through the hiring of faculty to address strategic institutional research goals. Strategic hiring is one approach used by …

Social Media, Journalism And Crisis: Twitter Representation Of #Syrianrefugees In Western News Media, Ahmad Khaled Alshallal

Dissertations

Generally, there have been conflicts in the world regarding media coverage especially on #SyrianRefugees in Western media. It is undebatable that the Western states have political stability and peace; thus, they remain better hosts for asylum seekers and other refugees who come in search of greener pastures. However, current trends have hindered such countries from being ideal hubs because citizens have basic fears including those related to national security. Refugee situations have attracted lots of controversies over the years to the point that the concern is evident in the media. This dissertation explores the crisis of Syrian refugees and the …

Relationship Between Self-Development, Mentorship, And Senior Military Officer Moral Judgment, Garry Thompson

Dissertations

Despite a renewed emphasis on ethics programs across the Department of Defense (DOD) since 2007, the number of senior officer ethical failures increased by 13% from 2015 to 2017 (Copp, 2017). If the trend of ethical failures and misconduct continue, the military faces a further decline in public confidence (DoDOIG, 2017). The 2017 DOD Inspector General report noted the trend of senior leader ethical failures might foster negative public perceptions regarding military leader’s overall dedication, sacrifice, ethics, and character (DoDOIG, 2017).

A review of military literature revealed the importance of mentorship and self-development in professional development; however, gaps between …

The Usage And Impact Of Outpatient Commitment Orders On Suicide And Suicide Attempt Rates In Mississippi, Sam Mauldin

Dissertations

Rates of self-harm and suicide in the United States have not decreased since 1980 and remained relatively constant through the start of the 21^st Century. The most recent data indicate that suicide rates in the United States have risen by about 2% a year from 2006 through 2016, although suicide rates have decreased in other countries during the same timeframe. Finding a viable intervention to slow rates of self-harm and suicide is needed in the United States. The need for closer patient observation has been cited as an underutilized intervention for the reduction of attempts of self-harm and suicide. …

Narcan Can Save Your Loved One: Designing Messages For The Opioid Crisis Using The Extended Parallel Process Model, Braden Bagley

Dissertations

In 2017, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) declared the opioid epidemic a public health emergency. The opioid epidemic has become widespread because of over prescription and extreme addiction. In recent years, the crisis has become dire because of the staggering annual death toll from overdoses. Although the number of opioid-related deaths has risen, so too have the innovations designed to combat opioid abuse and overdoses. The use of naloxone is a safe and reliable option for treating overdose victims. In fact, many first responders are primarily relying on the medication in such emergencies. This study …

An Analysis Of Western Art Music Arrangements For Steel Pan Chamber Ensemble, Ian Meiman

Dissertations

This dissertation is an analysis of western art music arrangements for steel pan chamber ensembles. Specifically, this dissertation will analyze how certain arrangers have adapted western art music for steel pan chamber ensemble while discussing the possible methods the arranger used to create this adaptation. The analysis will observe the melodic, harmonic, rhythmic, and other significant alterations made in the steel pan chamber arrangement, and discuss any changes made, whether due to the adaptation of the instruments or otherwise, from the original works. The dissertation will also include a brief historical discussion on western art music’s influence of early steel …

Unveiling Identities: A Cultural Study Of The Portrayal Of Leading Women In Zhang Yimou Films, Patrick Mcguire

Dissertations

It is imperative to recognize the ongoing collaborations of filmmakers from different countries. Film director Zhang Yimou, cited in this work, has reached out beyond his Chinese borders in recruiting both cast and crew on many of his latest features. But the field of film studies appears to have limited their investigations of such cross-cultural analyses, in particular the subjective analysis of the female lead character in film. Subjective and culturally wired as such, researchers bring forth conscious observations from their socialized unconscious minds.

This textual analysis begins with a comparison of two Chinese films, particularly observing their similar female …

Solo Trombone With Electronic Accompaniment: An Analysis And Performance Guide For Three Recent Compositions, Joshua Mize

Dissertations

This dissertation examines three solo trombone works, each with a different electronic accompaniment–fixed media, live electronics with a computer, and live electronics with a loop station. A historical and cultural background establishes a context for each accompaniment type, followed by a brief introduction of the selected composition and its composer. Then, an analysis of the piece explores how the electronic accompaniment functions within the context of the solo. Finally, a performance guide addresses rehearsal techniques and important aspects of performing with the different electronic accompaniments. The final product is a pedagogical resource representing current literature for the trombone and electronics …

The Changing News Paradigm Of South Mississippi’S Sun Herald As Seen Through The Eyes Of Its Journalists: 1968-2018, Judy Day Isbell

Dissertations

From the earliest days of the American democracy, one of the key tenets of the new government was rule by an informed electorate. This notion of rule of the people, by the people, for the people was established in the first article of the United States Constitution when the houses of Congress were carefully designed, and the idea of a knowledgeable constituency was emphasized in the first amendment when among such basic freedoms as speech, religion and assembly was freedom of the press.

Newspapers in America have changed significantly since the writing of that constitution, but most particularly in the …

History And Development Of British Secular Song For Solo Voice And Clarinet, Nancy Williams

Dissertations

Even though the use of the solo clarinet in British song made large advances in the twentieth century, many clarinetists are unaware of its repertory. A study of these songs will make it easier for performers to find these scores and will encourage them to program a greater variety of these songs, many of which are significantly underserved. Furthermore, a study of this repertory will lead to greater understanding of the importance of the repertoire and the role of the clarinet in it, resulting in informative and engaging performances. Both the investigation of the history of the clarinet's use in …

We Were Asked To Deny A Part Of Ourselves —And We Did: How Black Women Doctoral Students Experience Their Intersectional Identities In Race-Based Activism, Cherjanet Diane Lenzy

Dissertations

This study explored the experiences of 10 Black women doctoral students’ experiences with their intersectional identities in race-based activist work. Grounded in Black feminist thought and critical race feminism, participants engaged in a multi-method inquiry that employed in-depth interviews. “Artistic Story” was additionally used as a method to provoke intentional reflection. Counterstory methodology with the influences of testimonio and testifying techniques, coupled with an endarkend feminist epistemology, situated the study to commit to a reflective process that engaged the researcher and the participants simultaneously. The data analysis first revealed the theme unconscious back-seating, where participants were regulated to the back-seat …

Social Media Sentiment Analysis With A Deep Neural Network: An Enhanced Approach Using User Behavioral Information, Ahmed Sulaiman M. Alharbi

Dissertations

Sentiment analysis on social media such as Twitter has become a very important and challenging task. Due to the characteristics of such data (including tweet length, spelling errors, abbreviations, and special characters), the sentiment analysis task in such an environment requires a non-traditional approach. Moreover, social media sentiment analysis constitutes a fundamental problem with many interesting applications, such as for Business Intelligence, Medical Monitoring, and National Security. Most current social media sentiment classification methods judge the sentiment polarity primarily according to textual content and neglect other information on these platforms. In this research, we propose deep learning based frameworks that …

The Impact Of Social And Cultural Factors On Minority Students’ Participation In An International Baccalaureate Diploma Program, Elizabeth Scott-Janda

Dissertations

Although concern about mathematical achievement inequities has become widespread, even in well-funded, high-performing high schools, unequal outcomes for minority and disadvantaged students can seem persistent and difficult to change despite strong efforts. This project reports on an ethnographic study that examined how social environments within schools can affect students’ choices of whether or not to attempt advanced coursework in mathematics, especially among marginalized groups like Hispanic minorities, low socio-economic status (SES) and rural populations. It considered how social and peer environments affect students’ approaches to schooling, and decisions they make that will have long-term implications for their futures. In particular, …

Give The Fans What They Want: A Market Segmentation Approach To Sport Fans’ Social Media Usage, Kerry Dale Fischer

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to construct a model that segments fans of professional sport based on the type of social media platform they preferred to use as well as their social media usage motivations. In addition, the current study sought to investigate whether previously identified motives like escape and socialization, have transformed into more selfish motives such as narcissism. Convenience and snowball sampling techniques were used to collect data from fans of professional sport who specifically used social media to consume sport, resulting in a total sample size of 176. The online survey instrument was comprised of items …

An Assessment Of Conceptual Understanding Of Metabolic Pathways, Amani Atiyalla Abdugadar

Dissertations

Researchers have previously studied misconceptions of biochemistry topics such as photosynthesis, protein structure, and ATP-production. However, no studies have reported on students’ misconceptions regarding major metabolic pathways. Since learning metabolism builds on students’ prior knowledge, new material being learned will be affected by the presence of any misconceptions. Some of these misconceptions will be robust and thus hard to be replaced by the correct concepts. Thus, if students are to learn new material, these misconceptions must be diminished. This dissertation focused on the origins of these misconceptions, investigated what misconceptions students had on metabolism, and why students developed misconceptions instead …

Methodological Considerations For Researching Hidden-Populations With An Emphasis On Homeless Research Sampling Methods, Tyler William Kincaid

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to: (a) gain a methodological understanding of hidden population sampling techniques and to offer insight into which approach is best suited for a given researcher’s sample; and (b) to provide increased methodological understanding of how to best research hidden populations like the homeless by providing researchers, social care providers, and governing bodies with detailed guidelines for their work with the homeless. Regardless of the method, hidden and homeless populations are hard to find, understand, and approach with cultural responsiveness (Roche, et al. in Lahman, 2017). Using a critical theoretical approach to the research, this …

Dual Language Elementary Teacher Supports In Rocky Mountain Resort Communities, Miguel Donald Salinas

Dissertations

Dual language (DL) programs have been proven to increase student achievement (Thomas & Collier, 2002; Thomas, Collier, & Collier, 2010) but a gap remains in how to support teachers in their instruction of Spanish to both English home language and Spanish home language students. This mixed methods, explanatory, sequential design study was conducted in two Rocky Mountain resort communities in two school districts. Participants were chosen based on the research criterion of being DL elementary teachers in rural amenity-based destinations. The Guiding Principles for Dual-language Education (Howard et al., 2018) was used as the conceptual framework. Data were obtained from …

Change In Attribution Perspective, Shame, And Academic Identity For Freshmen On Probation Enrolled In University Academic Recovery Courses: A Mixed Methods Study, Christine L. Robinson

Dissertations

Student retention is critical to the success of the student, the college or university, and society in general. Consequently, institutions of higher education continue to focus efforts on student retention strategies and one such strategy utilizes academic recovery courses to support probationary freshmen. Previous research studies of these courses largely focus on academic outcomes without examining the “why” or “how” behind such outcomes. Some studies also discuss constructs including attribution perspective, shame, and academic identity. However, the relationship between these constructs has not been researched, particularly with regard to any change that may occur for probationary freshmen engaged with an …

Female Senior Student Affairs Officers’ Experiences In Decision Making Across Their Careers, Somaia Hamza Mustafa

Dissertations

This study explores the experiences of female Senior Student Affairs Officers (SSAOs) in decision-making across their careers in colleges and universities. This study focuses on female SSAOs who work in public and private institutions in the Midwest region of the United States. The experiences and perspectives of female SSAOs focused on the changes in decision-making styles while making small or large-scale decisions over time, the skillsets utilized, the challenges that they faced and the strategies that they employed. This study also explores female SSAOs’ experiences and perspectives regarding decision making when handling crises on campus.

The research design for this …

Ultrafast Relaxation Dynamics In Graphene Oxide-Dye And Perovskites Nanocomposites, Abubkr A. Arzaq Abuhagr

Dissertations

Novel materials such as graphene oxide (GO), reduced graphene oxide (RGO), and Perovskites nanocomposites nanosheets have shown interesting electrical and optical properties. These materials have shown prominence in research regarding optical sensing applications. The interaction of different fluorescent molecules like dye molecules with GO, and RGO have been studied recently to develop novel optical sensors, photo-catalysts, and light-harvesting agents. In this study, we have monitored the excited state interactions of dyes covalently attached to GO and RGO nanosheets. Three amine derivatives of anthracene, pyrene, and coumarin were covalently bound to different systems via amide bonds and diazotization. Characterization of different …