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Data Driven Decision Making For Sustainable Planning And Operations Of Large Scale Networks, Bahareh Kargar

Dissertations

This dissertation explores data-driven decision-making networks, focusing on sustainable planning and operations for large-scale systems such as healthcare supply chains and power systems. One significant application in healthcare is the optimization of vaccine supply chains. An agent-based simulation-optimization modeling framework is developed to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of vaccine distribution. First, an agent-based epidemiological model of COVID-19 is extended to capture disease transmission dynamics and forecast the number of susceptible individuals and infections. Then, a sustainable vaccine supply chain considering the impacts of greenhouse gases is developed and integrated with the simulation model to minimize total costs and environmental …

A Methodological Framework For Ontology Development, Enrichment, And Application In Natural Language Processing Tasks, Navya Martin Kollapally

Dissertations

Electronic Health Records (EHRs) have been widely used in healthcare to record demographics, vital signs, test results, immunizations, medical imaging reports, differential diagnoses, etc. It is now accepted that non-clinical (e.g., social) factors have a substantial influence on health outcomes. Hence, it is desirable to record these Social and Commercial Determinants of Health (SDoH & CDoH) in an EHR. The "non-text parts" of EHR notes (e.g., data tables) rely on coded terms from underlying ontologies or terminologies to facilitate semantic interoperability. Ontologies help define concepts, the relationships between them, and instances that can be utilized in research.

The first accomplishment …

An Autoethnography Of A Social Justice-Minded Teacher In Corrections, Graciela Rubalcaba-Munoz

Dissertations

ABSTRACT The incarceration of women has increased 93% in the last fifty years. This impacts marginalized communities at disproportionate rates. Although the provision of education in corrections became federal law in 1952 as a means to rehabilitate inmates, women’s facilities currently do not receive equitable resources to support education, which puts additional pressure on the educational staff. The legal requirement for education includes county jails, the transitory facilities that house inmates while they await court or transfer to prison. The jail educational system is volatile, making it difficult to engage students when there are constant interruptions, unexpected incidents, lockdowns, and …

Caregiver Support For Patients Diagnosed With Dementia, Michelle N. Kabakibi

Dissertations

Background: Current research indicates that caregivers of dementia patients often experience a great deal of stress related to caregiving. Most of these caregivers are informal caregivers without prior knowledge or training in dementia care. Previous studies indicate that informal caregivers often experience stress during this postdiagnosis period due to a lack of high-quality and available information, education, and support services tailored to meet the unique needs of families caring for a dementia patient. Currently published approaches to providing caregivers with information are largely centered on a one-size-fits-all approach.

Purpose: This descriptive qualitative study was conducted to examine the lived experience …

Optimistic Biases On E-Cigarette Cessation: Examining Competing Theoretical Models For Young Adults With And Without Chronic Health Conditions, Eleanor Steffens

Dissertations

The dramatic increase in youth nicotine initiation is an ongoing public health concern and heightens risk for morbidity and mortality, especially among young adults with chronic health conditions. Consequently, there is an urgent need for research exploring potential psychological mechanisms for continued e-cigarette use to aid in the development of targeted cessation interventions and combat the re-emerging nicotine epidemic. Utilizing the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study, the present study modeled the impact of optimistic biases for e-cigarette use on e-cigarette cessation interest among young adults with and without chronic health conditions (n=1,827). Results showed that, regardless of …

A Fundamental Cause Approach To Intimate Partner Violence In Marginalized Populations, Nicholas S. Metheny

Dissertations

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a serious public health concern that transcends partnership types and societies, affecting approximately one-third of women worldwide. Men in same-sex relationships likely experience violence at similar rates. This dissertation takes a fundamental cause approach to social-ecological and minority stress theories, arguing that structural forces are the root causes of violence in two target populations: women residing in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) and Indigenous men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States. Consisting of eight chapters, four of which are empirical studies, this body of work creates new knowledge surrounding how social …

Exploratory Study Of Graduate Nursing Student Grit And Strategies Used By Their Faculty: A Mixed Methods Approach, Leanne T. Burke

Dissertations

Registered Nurse (RN) workforce projections continue to show a shortage of RNs, which will intensify as Baby Boomers age and large numbers of nurses reach retirement (AACN, 2017a). To meet workforce demands, increasing numbers of nurses prepared at the graduate level for advanced roles like nursing faculty, nurse researchers, and primary care providers are critical. With variable attrition rates in master's and doctoral programs, there is a need for research into the uniqueness of these populations. In particular, noncognitive predictors of success, such as grit, may be important. This explanatory sequential mixed methods study assessed grit levels (measured by Grit-S) …

It Can Be Lonely At The Top, But It Doesn’T Have To Be: Workplace Loneliness As Experienced By Senior Leaders And Potential Coping Strategies, Kristen Prince

Dissertations

Workplace loneliness is a topic of growing interest among scholars and practitioners, in part because of the known impacts of loneliness on individuals’ well-being and performance. Recent literature has suggested that senior leaders may be vulnerable to feelings of workplace loneliness but lacks a thorough depiction of how leaders experience and cope with the feelings. This qualitative study explores the lived experiences and perspectives of senior leaders through interviews with 26 leaders and seven close confidants who provide a nuanced understanding of how senior leaders experience workplace loneliness and offer insight on mitigating these feelings. The findings suggest that the …

A Daca Initiative: Transformative Organizational Change At The School Of Medicine, Cynthia Chaidez

Dissertations

The purpose of this revelatory case study is to explore how the DACA Initiative (DI) transformed the School of Medicine (SOM) beyond just changing student demographics. In this research, I specifically explored if, through the DI, SOM organizationally changed enough to be considered transformative change in its efforts to enhance the acceptance and support of DACA medical students. In addition, I looked at the evolution of the financial operations at SOM to support DACA medical students. The research questions that guided this study were: As a result of the DI, did the organizational changes implemented by SOM to accept and …

Resilience And Associated Factors In Pediatric Nurses, Benjamin M. White

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to explore pediatric nurse resilience and the contextual factors surrounding it, and propose a heuristic framework of pediatric nurse resilience. A convergent mixed-methods approach to secondary analysis was utilized and the resulting findings informed the heuristic framework.

Project Poppseed: A Mixed-Methods Exploration Of Parents' Lived Experiences With Anencephaly, Shandeigh N. Berry

Dissertations

One in four women who experience perinatal loss develop intense grief. Adverse outcomes of intense grief include depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, suicidal ideation, obesity, hypertension, and diabetes. Congenital anomalies such as anencephaly are the leading cause of perinatal mortality in the United States. The purpose of this study was to identify the impact of common experiential themes on perinatal grief intensity by exploring parents' lived experiences with a pregnancy complicated by anencephaly.

Perceived Factors Impacting Teachers’ Pedagogical Decision-Making Pertaining To The Use Of Pbl In The Classroom: A Dissertation, Amanda Slaughter

Dissertations

There is a consistent body of research evidence citing the potential of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) as a viable instructional tool to raise student engagement with challenging content (Saye & Brush, 2017; Strutchens and Martin, 2017; Wynn, 2015). According to the National Council for the Social Studies, “The primary purpose of social studies is to help young people develop the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world” (NCSS, accessed 2023, March 1, para. 2). Scholars like Engle (1960) called for instructional strategies that raised the …

Implementation Of Evidence-Based Hourly Rounding To Improve Fall Rates Of Adult Patients On A Medical-Surgical Nursing Unit, David W. Smith

Dissertations

Patient falls remain a safety concern for all healthcare organizations and despite current evidence-based processes available for implementation there was a gap at the project site in adopting one. Therefore, the purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental quality improvement project was to determine if the implementation of the Studer Group's Hourly Rounding tools would impact patient fall rates among adult patients in an urban medical-surgical unit in Florida over thirty-days. Orlando's deliberate nursing process theory was utilized as a theoretical framework for this project. A total of 304 patients were included in the project with the pre-intervention group of n=140 …

An Interpreted Journey Of Professional Growth Among Female Baccalaureate Nursing Students: A Hermeneutic Study Of Mindfulness Practices, Lorraine Santangelo

Dissertations

Nursing literature reveals that stress is a leading factor contributing to nursing student attrition, new nurses leaving the profession, and the reduction of positive formation of professional identity during prelicensure education and transition into professional practice, which jeopardizes the growth and replacement needs of the future nursing workforce. Despite extensive quantitative research suggesting mindfulness practices decreases stress and anxiety among college students, nursing students, and nurses, a paucity of qualitative studies exist to inform on the meaning of this experience from the nursing student perspective. Nursing literature also suggests that stress management techniques, cultivating awareness of personal values, and a …

Impact Of Gamification On Engagement Of Prelicensure Nursing Students: Faculty Perceptions, Elizabeth A. Lucas

Dissertations

The United States is facing a current and worsening nursing workforce shortage which poses a threat to today's healthcare structure. Strategies to combat this shortage by increasing the number of qualified applicants admitted to nursing programs each year have been implemented. In addition to increasing the number of students admitted each year, work must be done to better support those nursing students to make it to graduation. A method that can help is through achieving student engagement which has been linked to improved critical thinking, learning, and grades. One teaching strategy that has the potential to increase student engagement is …

The Lived Experiences Of Clinical Staff Nurses Who Provide Care For Transgender Patients In Florida, Twanna L. Crockam

Dissertations

Historically, transgender patients have experienced challenging interactions with healthcare providers. As a result, many transgender patients refuse to seek medical attention for a broad spectrum of healthcare needs. Although the transgender population has gained attention, a lack of research exists of clinical staff nurses' lived experiences providing care for transgender patients.

The purpose of this qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological inquiry was to uncover and understand the experiences of clinical staff nurses when providing care for transgender patients in Florida. The research question was this: "What is the lived experience of clinical staff nurses who provide care for transgender patients in Florida?"

Exploring Factors Influencing Health Promoting Behaviors Among Latino Immigrants, Martin J. Mikell

Dissertations

Latino immigrants may experience stress during acculturation to the U. S., which can influence their ability to engage in health-promoting behaviors, such as dietary intake and physical activity. Dietary intake and physical activity influence the prevention or development of pre-diabetes/Type 2 Diabetes (T2DM). The immigrant's ability to perform health-promoting behaviors can also be influenced by their perceptions of self-efficacy to engage in health-promoting behaviors. Limited information is available in the literature on effective strategies for decreasing stress during the acculturation process of Latino immigrants, while also increasing self-efficacy in health-promoting behaviors. The purpose of this study was to explore the …

Leading With An Intercultural Mindset: Leadership Development Programs For International Students, Keri A. Toma Loehrer

Dissertations

This mixed methods study explored co-curricular student leadership development programs that included intercultural learning and were designed for international students studying at higher education institutions in the United States. The study aimed to better understand: (a) common program characteristics; (b) program administrator perceptions; and (c) the international student experience. Data was collected in a two-phase explanatory sequential design, involving surveys and semi-structured interviews. Six main content areas across all programs were identified: (a) diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); (b) global engagement; (c) intercultural learning; (d) leadership development; (e) personal and professional development; and (f) supporting the international community. Administrators generally …

Measuring Critical Mentoring: Understanding How Differences In Staff Beliefs Affect Peer Mentoring Implementation In The Csu, Lauren E. Reagan

Dissertations

Self-reported positive effects of peer mentoring for mentors and mentees have included enhanced academic performance, greater sense of belonging, and retention, among other widely accepted benefits of the intervention. However, minimal quantitative or mixed methods research has focused on mentoring staff who design, implement, and therefore heavily influence these programs. This mixed-methods study sought to articulate which factors relate to staff beliefs on peer mentoring in California’s largest public higher education system, the California State University. The first purpose of this study was to articulate which facets relate to or contribute to beliefs on a spectrum of mentoring perspectives, from …

A Comparison Study Of Vocational Factors Influencing Academic Satisfaction For Marginalized And Majority Students, Sara Driver

Dissertations

Marginalized college students experience increased rates of discrimination resulting in poorer academic outcomes whereas majority students are often afforded more privilege and access to resources allowing them to be more successful (Bardhardt et al., 2017; Milkman et al., 2015; Hanson, 2021). Psychology of Working Theory (PWT; Duffy et al., 2016) posits that experiences of discrimination and marginalization can negatively impact the chances for one to be successful in the world of work. PWT argues that decent work is a desired outcome by marginalized individuals and research confirms that securing future decent work is important to marginalized college students (Ma et …

High-Fidelity Simulation: Methods To Decrease Stress And Anxiety In Prelicensure Nursing Students, Barbara L. Biddle

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation literature review was to discuss causes of and methods to reduce stress and anxiety among prelicensure student nurses before and during a simulation so that learning through simulation prepares students to care for patients safely. This literature review focused on the history of simulation in training, feelings of anxiety and stress among nursing students, theories pertinent to nursing simulation, prelicensure students' views and outcomes in simulations, and the research measures that helped reduce stress and anxiety during simulation training.

Sales Professional Preservation: Examining The Impact Of Incongruent Ideological Belief Systems On Intentions To Quit Among Sales Professionals, Brian Lee Morgan

Dissertations

Organizations that lead with ideologies of moral tradition, politics, and social economics are playing a losing game. The ideological belief system congruence within the organization between leaders and members creates a better atmosphere with less turnover and better recruitment. Sales professionals want an environment free of ideological incongruence. Without ideological alignment, they will defect from the organization. Leaders are miscalculating the negative impact on members’ intentions to quit when they are faced with leaders acting upon ideology changes that affect the member-customer ecosystem. In addition, leaders should be aware of the personal attributes that can exacerbate turnover and work to …

The Pedagogical Impact Of Injury Through The Experiences Of Three Professional Trombonists, Caleb Owenby

Dissertations

As the stigma surrounding performance-related injuries in the brass community is slowly lifting, more musicians are openly seeking assistance for injuries, more musicians are willing to share their experiences with injury, and the musical community is becoming more knowledgeable in the realm of musician health. This research is aimed at preventing future dysfunctions in brass players, offering avenues of recovery for musicians currently experiencing an injury, and examining the current state of trombone pedagogy through the experiences of three performing trombonists.

Megumi Kanda, Colin Williams, and David Vining are professional trombonists and educators who have experienced an embouchure dysfunction or …

Factors Influencing Teacher Retention In K-12 Public Schools In Rural Hawai’I As Perceived By K-12 Public School Teachers, Celeste Akiu

Dissertations

Purpose. This qualitative study aimed to identify and describe the factors influencing teacher retention in K-12 public schools in rural Hawai’i, as perceived by K-12 public school teachers examined within the framework of Mason and Matas’ (2015) conceptualization of four capital factors: human, social, structural, and positive psychological. Methodology. This qualitative study intended to identify factors that influenced teachers in rural Hawai’ian communities to remain in the profession. Convenience purposeful sampling was used to identify the nine teachers who participated in this study. The Four Capital Framework for Teacher Retention was used to guide the questions used in the interviews, …

Reading Comprehension Interventions For Students With Autism, Mary Andrews

Dissertations

Research focused on reading comprehension interventions for students with autism is limited. Available research focuses primarily on the impact of single intervention methods, whether teacher-led or technology-based. Research on intervention methods paired with technology is limited. The researcher conducted a survey of 51 special education teachers to identify what interventions, whether teacher-led or technology-based, are most frequently and effectively utilized within the classroom, as well as what methods teachers prefer to utilize within the classroom. The researcher also interviewed a sample of 5 teachers and conducted a thematic analysis to identify factors that teachers identify as most important in teaching …

Development And Evaluation Of An Instrument For Exploring Achievement Emotions Of General Chemistry Students: General Chemistry Achievement Emotions Questionnaire, Alexander Graves

Dissertations

General Chemistry, a course that is required for many STEM degree programs, is often perceived as a difficult and stress-inducing course by students. One aspect of a student’s course experiences that can be measured are achievement emotions. Emotions that students can experience that can affect and are affected by academic performance are called achievement emotions. Achievement emotions, such as anxiety, have been extensively studied in recent years in relation to student performance and retention in different courses. Instruments that have been developed to measure achievement emotions in broad academic settings. However, achievement emotions have been determined to be domain-specific, meaning …

Effects Of School-Based Physical Activity On Children’S Core Executive Function Abilities, Jessie Katelyn Johnston

Dissertations

Children in the United States are becoming increasingly sedentary, linked to detrimental effects on both physical and mental health. Introducing physical activity interventions in schools offers a promising approach to address this trend, while also enhancing children’s executive functioning abilities. Executive functioning abilities are crucial for social-emotional development and academic success. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore whether a 6-week physical activity intervention at moderate intensity was associated with increases in executive functioning among girls who are enrolled in third through fifth grade. It was hypothesized that executive functioning abilities (working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility) would …

Combating The Racial Discipline Gap: Does Diversity Training Mitigate Implicit Bias In The Discipline Decision- Making Process?, Bailey R. Reshel

Dissertations

The racial discipline gap between Black and White students has been pervasive for decades. To date, limited research has been conducted on the possible role that principals’ implicit racial biases may play in this gap. As such, the purpose of this study was to explore how high school principal’s implicit racial biases may influence the severity of consequences given to Black students during subjective discipline situations. A non-experimental quantitative approach was used to explore the possible impact of high school principals’ pro-White implicit racial biases during subjective disciplinary decisions with Black students. It additionally examined whether the number of hours …

Collegiate Esports Participation And Its Perceived Effects On Student Experience: A Phenomenological Study Of Collegiate Esports Teams, David Shimokawa

Dissertations

In an increasingly competitive higher education marketplace, institutions are seeking innovative strategies to grow or maintain their existing student populations. As student interests shift over time, institutions must stay informed of the rise and decline of various sporting activities and the impact those activities have on the student body. As more institutions look to utilize esports as a tool for recruiting and retaining students, the purpose of this qualitative phenomenological research study was to create new knowledge on the phenomenon of collegiate esports participation and its perceived effects on student experience. This study had 11 participants who were active undergraduate …

Breaking Boundaries: A Qualitative Exploration Of Scientific Motivation And Persistance From The Perspectives Of Arab Women Undergradute Students In Stem In The Us, Fadwa Hamad

Dissertations

There is a lack of information regarding the motivational experiences of Arab women undergraduate students in STEM fields in the US and the factors that contribute to their engagement and persistence in this field. This is because of their categorization as white on census documents, which renders them invisible. Research has shown that motivational beliefs are effective predictors of students' persistence especially for women from minority groups. Thus, it is important to understand the motivational experiences of Arab women students as part of the minority women in STEM in the US. Using an intersectionality framework, and a multi-component motivational model, …