Digital Commons Network^™

Implementation Planning To Increase Treatment Integrity For Check-In/Check-Out With An Electronic Dbrc, Caitlyn Weaver

Dissertations

The present investigation assessed the effectiveness of Implementation Planning (IP) as a strategy for improving the treatment integrity of a commonly implemented behavioral intervention, Check-In/Check-Out (CICO). An electronic daily behavior report card (E-DBRC) was used to monitor intervention effectiveness for three students across a non-concurrent multiple-baseline design. IP was not associated with consistent improvements in treatment integrity for teachers who served as mentors within the CICO intervention. Teacher treatment integrity improved for one student’s teacher but had no sustained functional relation for the other two teachers. Student behavioral data were collected to determine if the implementation of CICO was associated …

Power, Privilege, And Permission: A Qualitative Study On The Perspectives Of Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors Who Serve Racially Diverse Clients, Cherrelle Singleton

Dissertations

This qualitative study explored the experiences of vocational rehabilitation counselors (VRC) serving racially diverse clients and how VRCs are trained and educated to work with racially diverse clients. VRCs are typically employed by federally funded state or federal rehabilitation agencies. In their role, they aim to provide individualized tools and services that empower people with disabilities by alleviating barriers to being successful when preparing for and maintaining employment and being independent in their adult life (Donnell et al., 2013). Often tasked to work with clients who have marginalized identities including race and disability, VRCs must be able to understand and …

Alternative Education Programs: An Exploration Of Programs And Supports To Reduce Juvenile Recidivism Among At-Risk Youth, Sarah Elizabeth Vanrensselaer

Dissertations

An exploration of alternative education programs and their relationship to juvenile recidivism was the focus of this narrative analysis. A constructivist epistemology and an interpretivist paradigm formed the conceptual framework, both of which aligned with the theoretical framework of Zimmerman’s (2008) self-regulated learning theory. The research questions focused on how alternative education programs impacted juvenile recidivism with a focus on 10 alternative education participants in Southeast, Wyoming, who have participated in the juvenile justice system. The use of multiple cases, coding, and collaboration between the researcher and the participants were used to ensure trustworthiness of this research. Results indicated the …

An Analysis And Performance Guide Of Olivier Messiaen’S Chants De Terre Et De Ciel, Joseph William Mcallister

Dissertations

This dissertation presents an analysis of musical elements in Olivier Messiaen’s Chants de terre et de ciel in order to facilitate performance preparation of the work. To begin, general information about Messiaen’s religious and musical upbringing is introduced, as well as relevant details of his marriage to Claire Delbos and the birth of their son, Pascal. This is followed by a discussion of the poems which Messiaen set in the Chants and their surrealistic aspects. The musical analysis begins with an examination of Messiaen’s compositional techniques as outlined in Technique de mon langage musical, followed by discussions of those elements …

Examining The Effect Of Gratitude On Intolerance Of Uncertainty And Loneliness, Adam John Paul Mackenzie

Dissertations

Loneliness has been demonstrated to have significant negative effects on overall well-being in the general population. Previous literature has demonstrated a significant association between loneliness and various demographic variables such as gender, age, educational attainment, relationship status, living arrangements and income. Because of the unique impact that the disease caused by the coronavirus, COVID–19, has had on a global scale in relation to physical distancing and increasing physical and psychological distress, the purpose of this study was to examine the role that gratitude played in the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and loneliness among the general adult population of the …

Evidence-Based Equity In Chemical Education, Anna Margiotta

Dissertations

Using Constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT) and reflexive Thematic Analysis (TA) methods, the purpose of this case study was to construct theory about equity for students studying chemistry at public universities in Colorado. Interviews with students (N=12), chemistry instructors (N=9), and equity practitioners (N=9) as well as observations of chemistry classes (N=42) were collected. Along with these interview transcripts and in-class observations, surveys completed by participants were also included as data. Journal entries of a reflexive or memoing nature were written as part of the data analysis procedures. With these data, I explored potential methods of equitable change in chemistry instruction …

The Social Ecology Of Academic Achievement: Risk And Protection, Jannessa Lynn Kitchin

Dissertations

There is an academic achievement gap consistently observed in the literature between differential socioeconomic groups. Students who do well academically despite risk are academically resilient. Researchers investigating academic resilience have failed to incorporate contemporary resilience models into their research. The purpose of my study was to determine how dispositional, social, and school-based social protective factors interact and to evaluate their relationship with academic achievement as well as to examine cross-sectional differences in protective factors and academic achievement between students who were reared differential socioeconomic groups. Seven Structural Equation Models as well as Multivariate Analysis of Variance was used to investigate …

Opportunities To Learn The General Education Curriculum: Literacy Instruction For Students With Significant Support Needs In Inclusive Settings, Heather Leigh Fitzpatrick

Dissertations

Students with significant support needs (SSN) have often been denied the breadth and depth of literacy instruction compared to their nondisabled peers. However, exposure to academic literacy increases when students with SSN are educated with their peers without disabilities within inclusive settings. While exposure is the first step to accessing grade level content, it does not necessarily mean that students with SSN will have the same opportunities to learn (OTL). Students with SSN require additional adaptions and supports to learn and make progress in the general education setting. Conversely, these supports are not always provided or used effectively to meet …

Clinician Experiences With Conducting Suicide Risk Assessments And Interventions, Sydney Lee Cople

Dissertations

Rates of suicide across the United States have been found to be increasingly prevalent and acute in recent years (Centers for Disease Control, 2018). To address this nationwide health crisis of suicidality, mental health clinicians are relied upon to prevent, assess, and intervene accordingly. Yet despite the ubiquitous nature of client suicidality, existing research has not yet examined how clinicians are experiencing working with such intense and acute risk for suicide. This qualitative phenomenological study sought to capture the descriptions of clinicians’ internal and external responses to assessing for and intervening with client suicidality in an effort to better understand …

“I Just Want To Play”: Methodological Considerations For Including Older Adults In Co-Creation Of Research With A Focus On The Meaning Of Activity For Residents Of A 55+ Active Adult Master Planned Community, Becky Alice De Oliveira

Dissertations

Co-creation of research with older adults is examined methodologically and the meaning of activity for older adults living in a 55+ active adult master planned community is examined contextually. Older adults are often the subjects of research but rarely involved as co-creators. Literature on co-creation of research indicates that it allows stakeholders greater participation (Halvorsrud et al., 2021), and older adults should be seen as stakeholders (Weil, 2015). This perspective challenges bias toward older people (van den Berg et al., 2019), and acknowledges the wealth of knowledge they possess as “experts” (Partridge, 2022). While potential exist for co-creation of research …

Overcoming Inner And Outer Constraints To Enhance Emerging Adult College Students’ Eudaemonic Well-Being: A Mixed Methods Study, Maha Ben Salem

Dissertations

Emerging adulthood is often recognized as a time of uncertainty, confusion, pressure, and stress. This time period also coincides in the Western world with many attending a college or university. Many emerging adults arrive at this developmental stage feeling the pressure and obligation for success but lack the resources needed to make required choices (Rogers & Maytan, 2012). Increasing levels of awareness and positive emotions represent a promising strategy for increasing eudaemonic well-being. To date, no known study has brought together constructs of self and constructs of education to foster eudemonic well-being. The current study fills gaps in the existing …

Mathematical Knowledge For Teaching In Co-Teachers At The Post-Secondary Level: A Cognitive And Enacted Approach, Lida Marie Lavelle Bentz

Dissertations

Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT), the knowledge used by a teacher to teach mathematics, has often been examined as a cognitive construct in K-6 teachers, but little research exists examining MKT in the post-secondary teaching context. Schoenfeld (2020) extended the definition of knowledge and thus MKT to include tacit and explicit perceptions. In doing so, Schoenfeld created the terms "big K" mKt and "little k" mkt, where mKt refers to the tacit and explicit perceptions used by a teacher to teach mathematics and mkt includes the teacher's understanding used in teaching mathematics (similar to cognitive MKT). Building from Schoenfeld’s conceptualization …

Additive Metal Deposition Feedback Optimization For The 3d Hybrid Metal Printer, Andrew James Wyman

Dissertations

In the additive manufacturing realm, explicitly the direct energy deposition method, there continues to be numerous advancements along with advantages to control print quality of the component and the ability to apply the successful repetition of metallic layers consecutively. Metal additive printed components have the capacity to directly use the component for the desired application or intended purpose from which the three-dimensional model was created. In contrast, plastic printers that produce components that would not hold to the physical conditions required such as a metallic component could withstand.

Research exertions were focused on improving the present Western Michigan University patented …

Teacher Perceptions Of Competence In Supporting Lgbtq+ Students, Christina Beushausen

Dissertations

LGBTQ+ students continually express concerns about safety in school. This population experiences various forms of bullying and harassment from not only their peers, but from their teachers. Teachers are unaware of the unconscious bias and heteronorms they carry into their classroom that alienate these students. Teachers express that they do not have adequate training to feel confident in their competence to intervene in the issues their LGBTQ+ students face. This study examined how teachers’ perceptions of their competency changed after participating in role-playing simulations as part of professional development. Participants included Midwestern middle school teachers who voluntarily participated in role-playing …

Examining The Effectiveness Of Virtual Instruction For Medication Administration Skill Acquisition In Prelicensure Nursing Students, Jenna E. Davis

Dissertations

To better meet student needs, nurse educators must explore alternatives to traditional educational approaches that will accommodate student needs while still providing essential instruction and feedback for students. Virtual skills instruction is one flexible option for practicing the clinical skill of medication administration, but the effectiveness in developing skill acquisition is not known. The influence of students' self-efficacy as well as personal and professional factors such as healthcare experience and nursing program type are also unknown.

The purpose of this study was to describe the medication skill acquisition of prelicensure nursing students who participated in virtual medication skill instruction at …

Coastal Geomorphic Response To Sea-Level Rise, Storms, And Antecedent Geology: Examples From The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Clayton Dike

Dissertations

Sea-level rise and tropical cyclone activity are threatening coastlines around the world. Past geologic coastal responses can be used to inform future scenarios. This three-part study examines the response of coastal systems to sea-level rise, storms, sediment supply, and antecedent geology over the past ~ 140 ka.

The first study is of the Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, coastal system along the northern Gulf of Mexico incorporating sediment supply, subsidence, and antecedent topography paired with an examination of geologic response to sea-level fall and rise. I used core and geophysical data that resolve incised valleys and other subsurface deposits from ~ …

Trauma-Informed Acceptance And Commitment Therapy For Substance Abuse, Whitney Nasse

Dissertations

The high co-morbidity of trauma and substance use disorders has prompted the need for more trauma-informed care within the available substance abuse treatments. The purpose of this research was to dissect and identify the strengths of two empirically studied treatment approaches for trauma and substance abuse. Furthermore, a suggested protocol was defined, showing the integration of these two models as a proposed treatment modality for trauma and substance abuse populations. Implications and recommendations for further research on this topic are also highlighted.

Application Of Deep Learning For Medical Sciences And Epidemiology Data Analysis And Diagnostic Modeling, Somenath Chakraborty

Dissertations

Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence have made significant progress concurrent with new advancements in hardware and software technologies. Deep learning methods heavily utilize parallel computing and Graphical Processing Units(GPU). It is already used in many applications ranging from image classification, object detection, segmentation, cyber security problems and others. Deep Learning is emerging as a viable choice in dealing with today’s real-time medical problems. We need new methods and technologies in the field of Medical Science and Epidemiology for detecting and diagnosing emerging threats from new viruses such as COVID-19. The use of Artificial Intelligence in these domains is becoming more …

Examining P3 And N2 Amplitudes Following Social Exclusion And Provocation In College Students With High And Low Narcissistic Traits, Kathleen Ramsey

Dissertations

Adults with narcissistic traits are prone to reacting aggressively following provocation due to elevations in emotional reactivity and perceived threat to their grandiose self-views. Prior studies have examined event-related potentials (ERPs) measures in college students with narcissistic traits in the context of risky decision making and facial emotion processing; however, no known studies have examined how those with narcissistic traits react to rejection and provocation at the neurophysiological level during an externally valid social rejection task (i.e., Cyberball). For the purposes of this study, it was predicted that participants with higher levels of narcissistic traits (both total narcissism and grandiose …

Using Nudges To Increase Engagement With Suicide Prevention Resources In An Online Sample Of United State Military Veterans, Brian W. Bauer

Dissertations

Suicide rates have continually increased from 1999 to 2019 in the United States, with populations such as military Veterans showing substantially higher suicide death and attempt rates than civilians. Behavioral economics researchers have demonstrated that people regularly make decisions that are not aligned with their own self-interests (i.e., irrational decisions). These irrational decisions often stem from humans having bounded rationality (i.e., limited computational power), which produce reliable cognitive biases that occur outside of people’s awareness and influence the decisions they make. There are many important decisions leading up to a suicide attempt (e.g., whether to engage with suicide prevention resources), …

The Effect Of A Specific Teaching Intervention On The Perceptions Of Self-Regulation In Undergraduate Baccalaureate Nursing Students In Saudi Arabia, Zahra Alnasser

Dissertations

Self-regulation is an important aspect of learning. Students who are capable of self-regulation, plan self-monitoring at different points during the process of knowledge acquisition to increase their likelihood of success and knowledge retention. Using self-monitoring, self-instruction, and self-evaluation processes enables students to become decisive in their learning. Previous studies have confirmed that self-regulated students have great success in college courses, and provided evidence for the positive benefits of self-regulation interventions. Still, nursing education lacks empirical research that focuses on self-regulation quality. The current study explored individual differences in third and fourth-year nursing students' perceptions of self-regulation profiles in Saudi Arabia …

Career Mobility Among Immigrant Registered Nurses In Canada: Experiences Of Caribbean Women, Enid M. Collins

Dissertations

Since the late 1950s, the Canadian nursing workforce especially during periods of nursing shortage has added to its numbers through immigration. Changes in immigration laws since the 1960s have opened doors for increased numbers of immigrants from Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean coming to work in Canada. This qualitative research study investigated the experiences of immigrant women from the Caribbean who are registered nurses (RNs) in Canada. There has been no previously published studies that documented experiences of immigrant women of colour related to career mobility in nursing.

Keeping Nurses In Nursing: Service-Learning As A Means To Enhance Grit, Caitlin M. Lofton

Dissertations

Retention of nurses is a major concern for the profession, especially in light of the nursing shortage; specifically, new graduate nurses are particularly susceptible to this phenomenon. While there are many causes for turnover and attrition within the profession, nurse burnout has been indicated as a central cause. As such, researchers have dedicated much energy and focus into pinpointing approaches that may mitigate the effects of burnout, turning to grit as a possible solution. However, research on grit in nursing is limited, with even less being included on how this trait can be developed. Nevertheless, researchers agree that strategies for …

Immune Cell-Protein Interactions In Alzheimer’S Disease, Kapur Dhami

Dissertations

Misfolded protein aggregates are one of the significant contributing factors in many neurogenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and others. My PhD research project was to study various aspects of amyloid-β peptide, a 40-42-residue peptide and the primary component of the senile plaques found in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) brains. One objective of my research was to purify and characterize the intermediate Aβ42 species using an array of biophysical techniques like size exclusion chromatography, fluorescence assays, circular dichroism, cellular assays, and protein assays. The other major research thrust of my project was to study the role of microglial …

A Managerial Ecosystem For Excellence In Hospital Administration, Denish Gangasingh

Dissertations

Major healthcare systems and hospital organizations face a myriad of challenges in today’s business environment, having to provide very complex and more comprehensive medical care with fewer resources. In this study, we investigate determinants of hospital performance in critical dimensions and propose an information infrastructure intended to promote excellence in clinical performance while sustaining a solid financial footing.

Senior executives must be knowledgeable in both business and clinical aspects of hospital administration because their decisions ultimately affect patient care and clinical outcomes. Key performance indicators (KPI) are necessary on both dimensions to inform their decisions. Financial and operational aspects of …

Marching Forward: A Qualitative Examination Of Adapting Enlisted Veteran Leadership Skills In The Corporate Environment, Casey W. Jensen

Dissertations

planning, resource utilization, and conforming to corporate policies all required adaptation. Veterans primarily adapt their leadership skills through internal and external networking, mentors, coaches, managing and resetting expectations, and understanding light and dark ambiguity. The theoretical contributions of this research are in paternalistic leadership and veteran enlisted research. The practical implications assist veterans in understanding how to adapt and strategies to adapt their skills. In addition, managers and peers may use this research to understand veterans' challenges better when leaving military service. Next, talent acquisition professionals can use this research to better identify military veteran candidates for specific roles and …

Perceptions Of Instructor Caring Behaviors Between English As A Second Language And Non-English As A Second Language Nursing Students, John C. Dike

Dissertations

English as a second language (ESL) nursing students have a significantly higher attrition rate and lower National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) pass rate than their non-ESL counterparts. Instructor caring behaviors (ICBs) are the ways nursing instructors treat students with respect, taking care to avoid prejudices, stereotyping, and judgments in the teaching-learning process which present prelicensure faculty to grapple with the challenge of effectively meeting the learning needs of both ESL and non-ESL students. The purpose of this cross-sectional, comparative study, guided by Watson's theory of human caring, was to explore the differences in perceptions of ICBs between ESL and non-ESL …

Influences Of 12-Hour Shifts On Unhealthy Eating Habits Of Acute Care Nurses, Ruth Sawdy

Dissertations

Shift work is a necessary part of a nurses' work schedule to patients who need 24 hours of continuous care. Eating habits of nurses are influenced by working long hours, not having adequate time to take a meal break, and not having access to healthy food choices which can cause stress and exhaustion and results in weight gain and obesity. The purpose of this quantitative logistic regression analysis, guided by the health belief model and the theory of planned behavior, was to determine if there was a relationship between shift work and the unhealthy eating habits/obesity rates of acute care …

Choices Related To Maximizing Quality Of Life At End Of Life, Theresa Lynn

Dissertations

Humans, including those residing in the United States, can live in denial of their own mortality. Because of this, futile care is sometimes provided, often at great monetary expense and for little or no return in terms of quality or length of life. At least two opportunities exist for making choices regarding care at the end of life in the U.S.: completing advance directives and choosing hospice care.

An Exploratory Multiple Case Study Of Discipline Practices In A Major Metropolitan Public School District: A Look Into The School To Prison Pipeline, Neil French, Kristin Calvert-French, Phyllis Jackson, Erin King

Dissertations

The school to prison pipeline is a phenomenon fed by exclusionary discipline practices that increase the likelihood that a student will have an interaction with the juvenile or criminal justice system at some time in their life; this phenomenon disproportionately affects Black students. Understanding the problem is key to slowing down the school to prison pipeline. This study of a school district in Missouri explores questions about how interpersonal relationships, implicit bias awareness, and school policies influence the learning environment, and how those factors relate to school discipline, which ultimately can lead to the school to prison pipeline. Drawing data …