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Factors Associated With Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy And Quality Of Life Among Type 2 Diabetes Patients In Saudi Arabia, Awatef Ibraheem

Dissertations

Evidence has suggested that diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is associated with decreased quality of life (QoL) and impaired physical and emotional health. About 82% of the diabetic population in Saudi Arabia show signs of DPN. However, it is under-recognized and undertreated. Further, DPN is linked to several clinical and metabolic risk factors. However, there is minimal evidence from Saudi Arabia on the impact of DPN on the individual's QoL. The aims of this current study were to (1) examine the impact of DPN symptoms on functioning, health perception, and QoL and (2) explore the biologic and individual factors associated with …

Stress And Coping Of Caregivers To Individuals With Dementia, Karen Annette Jensen

Dissertations

Considerable literature exists on the presence of burden among caregivers, however, it has also been discovered that individuals psychologically adapt to situations in which they are involved. The purpose of this study is, utilizing an adaptation paradigm, to examine the interrelationship of factors in the caregiver's environment and the mediating role of coping mechanisms on appraisal of caregiving. The theoretical framework to guide this study was based on Roy's Adaptation model in conjunction with Lazarus and Folkman's cognitively-based theory of stress and coping.

Caregivers' Psychological Factors Underlying Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake Among Non-Hispanic Black Preschoolers, Julia A. Franson Tipton

Dissertations

Non-Hispanic black children consume greater amounts of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and are at disproportionately high risk for obesity and other SSB-related health problems. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships between caregivers' beliefs, attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, past behavior, and intention to serve SSBs to non- Hispanic black preschoolers. The researcher conducted a cross-sectional, correlational study using multiple regression with path analysis using the Expanded Theory of Planned Behavior as the theoretical framework.

A Qualitative Study Exploring The Influence Of Low-Income Parental Engagement On Academic Achievement, Deborah Cardin

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand and describe the strategies that low-income parents use to support their high school students’ high academic achievement.

Methodology: In this qualitative case study, interviews, artifacts, and researcher notes were used to understand and describe the parental engagement behaviors and strategies of low-income parents that contributed to the academic achievement of students from the participant’s perspective. Several themes were derived from the shared experiences of the participants through analysis of data.

Findings: Key findings included parental use of: verbal communication and their presence in the lives of their student, traditionally …

Nurses' Negotiation Processes In Facilitating Ethical Decision-Making In Patient Care, Teresa A. Savage

Dissertations

The literature on ethical decision-making by nurses presents both prescriptive and descriptive decision-making models. The processes nurses use to move through the step-wise models has not been described. An atheoretical approach was taken using naturalistic inquiry methodology to explore the processes further. Eighteen nurses working in a Midwest, urban academic medical center were interviewed. The major themes focused on the moral agency of nurses and the processes by which nurses accomplish their objectives for their patients. Physician-nurse relationships and their interactions were critical in the expression of moral agency of the nurses. The main finding in the study was that …

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, …

The Relation Of Sick Leave Benefits, Employment Patterns, And Individual Characteristics To Radiation Therapy-Related Fatigue, Patricia Anne Poirier

Dissertations

Fatigue has consistently been found to be the most common and distressing side effect of radiation therapy. This study examined the relation of a specific life-style behavior with many policy and economic implications, participation in the workforce, on radiation therapy-related fatigue. The aims of this longitudinal study were to: describe sick leave benefits available to patients undergoing radiation therapy; examine the relation between sick leave benefits, individual characteristics, and employment patterns in patients undergoing radiation therapy; and examine the relation between employment patterns, individual characteristics, and fatigue in patients receiving radiation therapy. The Conceptual Model of Nursing and Health Policy …

Culture Care Values, Beliefs And Practices Observed In Empowerment Of American Indian Community Health Representatives, Elizabeth A. Tyree

Dissertations

The World Health Organization (WHO) primary health care model emphasizes intervention at the home and family level, partnerships with the community, collaboration with lay community health workers, and prevention. Thus, the model has significance for nursing. Among the population groups in the United States, American Indians show the greatest disparity from the norm in access to health care and outcomes of care.* This study addresses the primary health care principle of community involvement in health using an empowerment model, with a participatory action research approach, informed by the ethnonursing method of Madeleine Leininger. The population of interest is American Indian …

Factors Associated With Behavioral Symptoms In Persons With Dementia Residing In Assisted Living, Julie L. Ellis

Dissertations

Factors associated with behavioral symptoms among persons with dementia residing in assisted living were investigated in this study using a descriptive, correlational design with a cross-sectional methodology. The purposes of the research were to (a) describe the extent of pain, depression, co-morbid conditions, function and behavioral symptoms in a sample of residents with dementia in assisted living and (b) identify the relationship between the of factors pain, depression, co-morbid conditions, and function to the extent of behavioral symptoms in the sample.

Cardiovascular Knowledge, Beliefs And Healthcare Practices Of The Amish In Northern Indiana, Deborah R. Gillum

Dissertations

The Amish are a conservative ethno-religious Christian subculture who are doubling in number every 14 years. There are now more than 249,000 located in 28 states and Ontario, Canada. To our knowledge, no previous study has examined cardiovascular disease (CVD) knowledge and preventive healthcare practices among this socially and technologically isolated population.

Cardiovascular knowledge, beliefs, and healthcare practices among northern Indiana Amish were explored using Leininger's Culture Care Diversity and Universality as a guiding theoretical framework. Sample. Data was obtained from an Amish settlement located in northern Indiana.

Using Lifestyle Educational Intervention To Decrease Blood Pressure Reading Amongst African American Adults, Catherine Madu

Dissertations

Hypertension or high blood pressure is a global epidemic and a major public health challenge in the United States. Hypertension increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and renal failure. The disease disproportionately affects African Americans (AAs) and is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in this ethnic group. Effective management of hypertension decreases complications from the disease. The purpose of the clinical scholarly project (CSP) was to decrease blood pressure readings amongst AA adults, ages 18 to 65 years old using educational intervention on lifestyle modifications. A convenience sampling of 20 AA (n = 20) adult participants was …

The Economic Impacts Of Casino Gaming In Mississippi: Local, Regional, National And International Considerations, Janelle Townes

Dissertations

Casino development and the proliferation of the casino gaming industry has centered on the prevailing issue of economic impact. The purpose of this study was to determine what impact casinos in Mississippi have on the economy of the host communities. In this quantitative descriptive research study, the primary employment, tourism and revenue data were gathered from records provided by the Mississippi Gaming Commission to test the level of change that occurred in the host communities of Mississippi casinos between 2000 and 2015, a period when Mississippi communities experienced severe economic crises due in part to natural diseasters and economic recession. …

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 …

From Carver To Carter: The Political Economy Of Peanut Cultivation In The South, 1945-1976, Hayden Noel Mcdaniel

Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on the creation of a robust peanut industry in the South during the twentieth century, tracing its growth from a minor, local subsistence commodity to an agribusiness contributing to mass consumption. This study argues that local groups, constituents of peanut producing regions, and their representation in Congress worked together to establish a national peanut culture. Because peanuts’ rise in importance happened nearly simultaneously with the escalation of federal agricultural policies, studying peanuts rather than other traditional crops best demonstrates the interconnected relationship between federal policy and agricultural politics in the South.

Monocyte Phenotype And Whole Blood Immune Response In Physically Active Chronic Cannabis Users And Non-Users, Jonathon K. Lisano

Dissertations

Some physically active individuals are now advocating for the use of cannabis with exercise for its potential to optimize the immune response. Yet, it remains to be seen whether the chronic use of cannabis products is linked to alterations in immune characteristics, such as monocyte phenotype and function in physically active individuals. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to assess resting concentrations of c-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), monocyte phenotype and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulated production of Interleukin-6 (IL-6) following pre-treated with synthetic cannabinoid 2 (CB2) receptor agonist and antagonist in physically active individuals using cannabis products at least …

The Impact Of Character Education Programs On Middle School Bullying Behavior, Kelly M. Amshey

Dissertations

Bullying is recognized as a barrier that must be addressed by schools to ensure that all students have access to educational opportunities. Due to high accountability with limited resources, schools must identify strategies to address issues such as bullying in a manner that provides the maximum benefit to students. Character education (CE) programs, which contribute to the bullying deterrent of positive school climate, may also lessen bullying through explicit teaching of character traits and prosocial skills.

The purpose of this study is to determine if there is a relationship between utilization of character education and prevalence of bullying in middle …

The Effects Of Kefir And Exercise On Immune Function And Gut Health, Peter Royal Smoak

Dissertations

Cancer is one of the most prevalent diseases affecting society today, and the number of newly diagnosed cases increases every year. Unresolved inflammation is an important underlying cause of cancer and chronically elevated concentrations of inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), and C-reactive protein (CRP) are positively related to cancer incidence and progression. Cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiation therapy can impair beneficial gut microbes that help to protect against pathogens and modulate immunity. Physical activity and exercise regimens improve chronic inflammation and gut microbes in cancer survivors but relatively few studies have explored the potential …

Closing The Opportunity Gap For Low-Income Urban Minority Students In Turnaround Schools, Cleophas Rodgers

Dissertations

As we prepare to address and stem many of the systemic racist policies that plague our low-income minority students, we have to remain diligent and innovative in our attempt to provide our low-income minority students, as early as pre-kindergarten, access to opportunities that will ultimately prepare them for post-secondary success. This study focuses on how accountability policies and expectations for turnaround schools have had a long-term impact on the type of opportunities students who attend these schools will ultimately have. This study also proposes two policies that work to not only increase opportunities for low-income urban minority students who attend …

Developing A Theoretical Framework For Visualization-Based Pedagogical Content Knowledge (V-Pck) Based On Middle School Teachers’ Views And Uses Of Visualizations As An Instructional Tool, Jacqueline Samuel

Dissertations

Visualizations is a categorical term that is often used to provide visual imagery to the communication of processes, concepts, exemplar phenomena, and general information. Objects such as graphs, tables, diagrams, animations, and pictures fall in this category. Existing literature focuses primarily on the use of visualizations in the science field at the high school level, collegiate levels, and in pre-service teacher education programs. A gap in the literature exists which examines how science teachers at the middle school level perceive and use visualizations as instructional components in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to examine science teachers views …

Assessing Concussion Recovery With Dynamic Stability Methodologies, Kurt Otto Buchholz

Dissertations

The overarching purpose of this dissertation was to investigate methods and measures of dynamic stability with the final application being assessment within a concussed population. Of the three studies presented, the focus of the first two studies was on development of a new measure of dynamic postural stability, comparing it to traditional methods, and determining how it performed relative to traditional methods. In the first study, participants performed a forward hop while kinematic and kinetic data were collected. Comparison of the kinetic estimation of the center of mass to the kinematic estimation showed moderate to strong agreement. This allowed the …

Model Selection For Longitudinal Data With Time-Dependent Covariates Using Generalized Method Of Moments, Maryann Nishimura Shane

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to establish measures that could be used to assess the relative fit of nested models with parameters estimated using the Generalized Method of Moments for longitudinal data with time-dependent covariates. A secondary data set collected from Filipino children was used as an example of model fitting to evaluate the quality of the assessment of fit of the Kullback-Leibler Information Criterion (KLIC) and a chi-squared statistic derived from the difference in the minimums of the quadratic forms of two candidate nested models. A simulation involving randomly-generated data sets was also used to evaluate the performance …

The Influence Of Asymmetry On The Metabolic Cost Of Locomotion, Shane Patrick Murphy

Dissertations

In this dissertation, the measurement and impact of asymmetrical locomotion were investigated. In the first study, ten able-bodied individuals were asked to run on a treadmill from which interlimb symmetries of joint level kinematics and kinetics were measured. To obtain a stable measure of interlimb symmetry, an average of 15 strides were needed. However, no differences were found between averages from bins of consecutive and inconsecutive strides. Further, no differences were noted between the average interlimb symmetry and interlimb symmetries calculated from the first, middle, or last, strides. Although there were differences between symmetry calculations, neither measure required a greater …

Exploring School Employee Physical Activity Behaviors And Perceptions, Ann Pulling Kuhn

Dissertations

Employee involvement in physical activity (PA) while at school has been understudied and is relatively unknown (Chen & Gu, 2018; Hunt & Metzler, 2017). The purposes of this dissertation study were to (a) describe school employees’ PA behaviors while at school, and (b) explore school employees’ perceptions of the feasibility of school employee PA interventions found to be effective in published research. An explanatory sequential mixed methods design was used to collect school employee self-reported PA behaviors and district/school demographic information via an electronic survey from 488 school employees in northern Colorado. Data were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis H test, …

The Impacts Of Rock Climbing On The Selection Of Roosts By Bats And The Influence Of These Mammals On The Biodiversity And Nutrient Influx Of Cliff-Face Ecosystems, Ashley Kay Wilson

Dissertations

Humans have an un-matched ability to alter the environment, which often has detrimental effects on other species, from tiny microbes to enormous plants and animals. Bats are the second-largest order (Chiroptera) of mammals with ca. 1,300 described species, many of which have declining populations due to human disturbances of ecosystems. Being the only mammals capable of flight, bats exploit numerous ecosystems and are known to roost in various habitats including caves, trees, mines, bridges, barns, etc. Although the roosting ecology of bats in ecosystems such as caves and forests has been well documented, no study has yet examined the relationship …

Physical Activity Prevalence Among Migrants In United Arab Emirate, Rowaa Elhidia Elobaid Abd-Allatif

Dissertations

Insufficient physical activity is a leading risk for non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Few data were available on the physical activity levels of migrants in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This study aimed to determine leisure time physical activity levels and their associated socio-demographic determinants and NCD risk factors among migrants in Al Ain, UAE. A random sample of male South Asian migrants (n=1375) (76.4% response rate) and female South Asian, Arab, and Philippines migrants (n=555) (75% participation rate) was recruited from the government Visa Screening Center in Al Ain, UAE. An adapted version of the WHO STEPS Survey with a short …

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 …

Staff Conceptualization Of And Engagement With Diversity And Inclusion In Collegiate Recreation: A Multilevel Exploration, Erin Michelle Patchett

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine how collegiate recreation professionals conceptualize and engage in diversity and inclusion efforts in their roles as well as what are the influences and perceived outcomes of that engagement. Informed by constructivist and critical paradigms, an instrumental case study design was utilized to collect data from one collegiate recreation organization. Data sources included interviews with 13 collegiate recreation professionals, observations, writing activities, document analysis, and a researcher journal. Thematic analysis was utilized to examine the data. Four main themes were identified: (a) complex layers of diversity and inclusion, (b) layers of influences, (c) …

The Impact Of A Multisensory Stimulation Environment Within A Memory Care Assisted Living Facility, Dana M. Prince

Dissertations

The use of Multisensory Stimulation Environments (MSSE) has grown increasingly more common in the United States (U.S.) as a nonpharmacological intervention for Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD). However, typical MSSE designs require a secluded room isolated from outside stimulation and demand direct supervision from the care provider during treatment. Due to projected shortages in the clinical workforce and the population of older adults on the rise, a study was designed to reveal the effectiveness of an open-floorplan MSSE to reduce the demand of care providers during the use of the MSSE while allowing subjects diagnosed with dementia to …

The Role Of Multidrug Resistance Regulators Mara, Soxs, Rob And Rama In Regulating Virulence Traits In Salmonella Enterica, Srinivas Thota

Dissertations

Enteric pathogens sense numerous signals specific to the anatomical location in the intestine and integrate them with the complex regulatory networks to temporally and spatially regulate their virulence genes. MarA, SoxS, Rob and RamA are homologous transcription factors that belong to AraC family of proteins in Salmonella enterica that primarily were thought to be involved in rendering antibiotic resistance to bacteria by up regulating efflux pumps and down regulating outer membrane porins. The fact that these transcription factors respond to the same intestinal compounds that regulate virulence genes in Salmonella motivated us to look for other roles of these transcription …

Accessibility To Resources For Homeless Documented Immigrant Families: A Case Study, Antaniece P. Carter

Dissertations

This study seeks to explore the experience of a homeless documented immigrant family attempting to access school and community resources. Research has shown that due to disadvantages including but not limited to lack of economic mobility, employment access, lone parent families, and cultural background, some immigrant families may face challenges accessing services (Arnold, 2004). Difficulty accessing services then can inhibit adjustment and may lead to homelessness.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the issue of homelessness as experienced by immigrants within an urban community. A case study will highlight the experience of a homeless immigrant family, as defined …