Digital Commons Network^™

Expanding And Improving High-Quality Early Care And Education In California: Is There Alignment Between Policymakers And The Public?, Heidi Schmidt Emberling

Dissertations

Although there is widespread agreement about the life-long benefits of high-quality childcare and preschool, access for all children in California is limited. The negative effects of this inadequate landscape are borne predominantly by children living in poverty, and middle-income families who do not qualify for subsidies and cannot afford full-fee care. This mixed-methods study examines specific factors that impede expansion and improvement of childcare/preschool in California, from the perspective of five diverse policymakers. Findings reveal a variety of policy solutions in the areas of funding, teacher workforce, quality of care, policy development, and public perception of the importance of high-quality …

Exploring Intergenerational Value Changes Across Three Generations Of Emirati Women Using Focused Ethnography, Ebtesam Ali Alteneiji

Dissertations

Intergenerational value change, influenced by technological advancements, economic development, formal education, and urbanization, becomes especially complex when it occurs in times of rapid changes, as in the case of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Through the lens of social change and human development theory, heavily constructed in the Gemeinschaft/Gesellschaft paradigm, this focused ethnography explored the push and pull of traditional boundaries within a collectivist society and the necessary navigation of infused Westernized philosophies promoting individualism and autonomy. Participants in this study (N = 24) were members of 8 family triads of grandmothers, mothers, and daughters who represented 8 different …

Moral Development And Public Health Nursing, Margaret Avila

Dissertations

Public health nurses (PHNs) have the opportunity and professional obligation to be at the forefront of the fight to eliminate health disparities based on the practice principle of social justice. The overall purpose of this descriptive study was to explore the stage of the moral development in a convenience sample of practicing public health nurses (PHNs) and the differences in moral development stage across selected demographic variables (age, gender, race/ethnicity, level of entry into professional nursing, highest level of education, years practicing as an RN, years practicing in a public health department, self-identified political views, primary language, and region of …

Providing Hospice Care For Children: An Organizational Study, Lisa C. Lindley

Dissertations

Background. Of the 54,000 children, who die in the US, many lack access to hospice care. As terminally ill children increasingly return home to die, little is known about the hospices that provide care for children and what factors may influence whether care is provided. Objective. To understand the institutional and resource factors that may influence the provision of hospice care for children, while controlling for organizational and market factors. Methods. This study used a retrospective, longitudinal design.

Nurse Perceptions Of Facility Influences On Older Adult Acute Care Falls, Patricia Brock

Dissertations

Health care and nursing sometimes seem at odds when determining what is best for patient care. This study examined registered nurse (RN) perceptions of the inability to apply expert specialized knowledge of falls prevention for older adults while maintaining professional nursing standards of care and safety and complying with health care and facility policies, procedures, and bureaucratic directives. Following methods of Institutional Ethnography (IE), the study considered how institutions influenced and organized RNs' work and social organization. The social life and organization of RNs arises in what they do and translate into their specialized knowledge. Within their particular settings and …

Qualitative Study: Understanding Mexican American Women's Experience In Intimate Partner Violence, Nora Montalvo-Liendo

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain an understanding of the experiences of Mexican American women living with intimate partner abuse relevant to the process of disclosure of abuse. Limited research exists on the experiences of women who are of Mexican descent living with intimate partner abuse and their disclosure of abuse. Factors that influence disclosure for other populations are well articulated in the literature however, these factors have not been adequately verified in persons of Mexican descent.

Older Adult Caregiving In An Amish Community, Helen Mavis Farrar

Dissertations

The focus of this study is Amish experiences of older adult caregiving. As an ethnic and religious minority group, the population of Amish in North America is doubling every 18 to 20 years, increasing from an estimated 235,000 in 2008, to 282,000 in 2013 (Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, 2013). Cultural values of the Amish include separation from mainstream society, avoidance of modern technology and an adherence to a rural, agrarian lifestyle according to scripture (Hurst & McConnell, 2010). In spite of sequestration from mainstream society, there is growing evidence that the Amish communities are increasingly seeking healthcare …

The Experience Of Viewing Self In The Mirror After A Mastectomy, Wyona M. Freysteinson

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to talk with women who have had a mastectomy in order to discern the experience of viewing self in a mirror post-operatively. More specifically, the study sought to describe the experience from both a structural and a phenomenological perspective. The question guiding the study was: What is the experience of viewing self in the mirror after a mastectomy? Twelve women, who had a mastectomy 3-12 months prior to participation in the study, discussed their experiences of viewing self in mirror in audio-taped conversational interviews. A structural analysis was performed on each transcript, followed by …

Perceived Risk For Cardiovascular Disease Among Japanese Adults, Satomi Hayashi

Dissertations

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) including coronary artery disease and stroke is a significant health problem in Japan regardless of well established health care and insurance system and various public campaigns and exhibitions in the contemporary Japanese society. Higher and increasing prevalence and incidence of well-known risk factor of CVD may contribute to increasing mortality and morbidity of CVD in the future. However, limited knowledge was available for understanding perceptions of risk for CVD among Japanese adults. This grounded theory study aimed to explore social psychological process in perception of risk for CVD among Japanese adults.

The Influence Of Organizational And Personal Factors On U.S. Army Nurse Corps Officers' Intent To Leave The Army, Linda Wiley Fisher

Dissertations

The purpose of this paper is to present the dissertation research that compared the influence of personal and organizational factors on two groups' (US Army and civilian registered nurses-RN) intent to leave their employers. This study is the baseline study of a program of research on military nurse retention and is intended to lead to a longitudinal study comparing the two groups again in one year. Chapter I identifies why nurse retention is important, provides background/history about the problem of nurse retention, describes the special case of US Army nursing, introduces the topic of household economic influences on nurse retention, …

Emergence Of Informal Clinical Leadership Among Bedside Nurses In The Acute Care Clinical Setting: A Mixed Methods Study, Darlene M. Rogers

Dissertations

Quality and safety initiatives direct all nurses to lead practice change. Existing nurse leadership research predominantly focuses on formal nursing leaders and overlooks a critical resource pool: informal leaders at the point of care. This study explored influences on the emergence of informal clinical leadership among bedside nurses in the acute care hospital setting. Nurse personal attributes (demographic characteristics, professional experience, and psychological capital) and situational context in the acute care workplace setting were examined as predictors of clinical leadership behavior. The study used a convergent parallel mixed methods design with an exploratory correlational quantitative strand and a descriptive qualitative …

Impulsivity As A Trait Predictor In Baccalaureate Nursing Students, Jennifer Bertucci

Dissertations

Impulsive personality traits have been linked to pathological decision making in individuals who possess the trait. Impulsive pathological decision making may include acts of aggression, divergence, risky behavior, lack of self-care, etc. The purpose of this study was to examine impulsive personality traits among nursing students. Traditional students are defined by the following characteristics: earns a high school diploma, enrolls full time immediately after finishing high school, are financially dependent on parents, and either do not work during the school year or works part-time (the exception to the rule) (Choy, 2002). A non-traditional nursing student is defined as students who …

The Influence Of Emotional Intelligence Training On College Student Employee Workforce Readiness, Wynde Jones

Dissertations

Working while enrolled in college has become routine for the Millennial college student (Riggert, Boyle, Petrosko, Ash, & Rude-Parkins, 2006). Approximately 14 million students in the United States work and attend college simultaneously (Carnevale, Smith, Melton, & Price, 2015). Millennials graduate and infiltrate the workforce, now composing half of the U. S. labor market (Calk & Patrick, 2017). Yet, a mismatch between employer and new graduate’s competencies occurs in the workplace. While Millennials view themselves as workforce ready, employers see them as unprepared and lacking the necessary skills for success in the workplace (Jaschik, 2015). Many Millennial college graduates do …

Foodism In Ireland 2019: Feeding Foodie Philosophy Or Showing A Shift In Contemporary Food Culture?, Sinéad Reil

Dissertations

“Everybody eats and drinks; yet only few appreciate the taste of food”

Confucius (551- 479BC).

This research study examines contemporary food culture in Ireland through the phenomenon of foodism and the habits and traits expressed through the subculture of foodies. Elements and actors of the Irish foodscape are also considered. Other topics it discusses are Irish food history, Ireland’s gastronomical global position and the modern Irish chef.

The thesis defined foodism as: “A keen or exaggerated interest in food, especially in the minute details of preparation, presentation, and consumption of food” (‘Foodism’, 2018a). In order to answer the five sub-research …

Collective Protesting As Existential Communication: A Phenomenology Of Risk, Responsibility, And Ethical Attendance, L. Shelley Rawlins

Dissertations

This dissertation explores the experience of participating in collective protest. I performed an existential-phenomenological analysis of five participants’ in-depth accounts of their involvements participating in collective protest. I considered my interviewees’ discourse to be reflective of their lived, embodied experiences of being in protest with others. Participants each described distinct protesting experiences. I explored their accounts in relation to six basic aspects of existence: self, other, embodiment, time, space, and choice/freedom. From within these existential realms, participants’ accounts revealed five key existential themes of participating in collective protest: (1) Existential Crises and Activation; (2) Existential Magnification; (3) Existential Horizons; (4) …

“From Behind The Plow”: Agrarianism And Racial Uplift In African American Literature, 1881-1917, James O'Donoghue

Dissertations

My study challenges our current valorization of movement and flow in readings of African American literature. I do so through an exploration of the representations of the black agrarian masses who either choose to remain or could not afford the spectacular forms of escape to urban life which many essentialized as freedom. In the dramatic and pivotal decades following emancipation, African American leaders attempted to check the growing apartheid by the “combination” of diverse African American communities: North and South, professional and working class. This required that they move beyond the question of whether one was free or slave to …

Adapting To Obstacles: Inhibition And Creative Potential In A Sample Of Successfully Aging Older Adults, Cassandra Dinius

Dissertations

Studying older adults who are aging ‘successfully’ (i.e., avoiding disease/disability; maintaining high cognitive and physical functioning; engaging in meaningful interpersonal/social engagement) may offer insight into variables that contribute to cognitive change throughout the lifespan. Successful aging is related to levels of engagement, which may be promoted by the problem solving and reevaluation encouraged by the creative process (Fisher & Specht, 1999). Creative thinking requires the consideration of diverse concepts and strategies (e.g., generating many solutions), as well as the regulated filtering of these possibilities (e.g., neither too permissive nor too narrow when eliminating ideas; Baas, De Dreu, & Nijstad, 2011). …

Implicit And Explicit Sexual Attitude Among United States Baccalaureate Nursing Students, Michael G. Murphy

Dissertations

Recognizing sexual minorities continue to experience discrimination and social, institutional, and health disparities, this study explored implicit and explicit sexual attitude among nursing students. Knowledge of these attitudes is an important step to improve the care provided to this vulnerable population. Yet, there remains little research of implicit sexual attitude among nurses and no research among nursing students. This study addressed this gap in the current literature by comparing measurements of implicit and explicit attitude and identifying demographic attributes that predict these attitudes. Critical cosmopolitan theory (Delanty, 2006), informed this non-experimental, descriptive, correlational study. Implicit attitude wasmeasured using the sexuality …

Nonparametric Approach To Multivariate Analysis Of Variance (Manova) Using Density-Based Kernel Methods, Hend Aljobaily

Dissertations

Density estimation and nonparametric methods have become increasingly important over the last three decades. These methods are useful in analyzing modern data which includes many variables with numerous observations. It is common to see datasets with hundreds of variables and millions of observations. Examples proliferate in fields such as geological exploration, speech recognition, and biological and medical research. Therefore, there is an increasing demand for tools that can detect and summarize the multivariate structure in complex data. Only nonparametric methods are able to do so when little is known about the data generating process. The term nonparametric does not necessarily …

Implementing Social And Emotional Learning In Rural Colorado Schools: A Quantitative Study Of The Impact Of Impetuses And Challenges, Jimmie Robert Charles Phillips

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify the circumstances of rural Colorado schools that impact SEL implementation. The research also sought to determine the relationship between impetus for implementation and levels of achieved implementation as well as the relationship between implementation challenges and achieved levels of implementation. A survey of 113 school leaders provided data about these relationships. The findings supported current literature about the difficulties of implementing SEL and about rural school challenges in general. The results indicate that leaders who observed best practices in SEL at the building-wide and classroom level also rated themselves as having higher …

Cyber Security In Mental Health: An Assessment Of Current Practice And Behavioral Intent, Richard Hamilton Stotts

Dissertations

Mental health practitioners rely on digital systems to interact with and in some instances treat patients (Hydari, Telang, & Marella, 2015; Recupero, & Rainey, 2005). Yet, while widespread use of digital devices provides significant practical advantages, that same use exacerbates the possibility of a cyber breach (Guterman, 1999). This research describes mental health practitioners’ current cyber security practices and the factors influencing their behavioral intentions to implement cyber security within clinical mental health settings. Factors assessed included knowledge, self-efficacy, norms, threat awareness and penalties. Mental health practitioners (n = 210) from across the United States formed the sample population, received …

Leadership Approaches Federal Government Civilian Employees Perceive Most Effective For Enhancing Employee Morale And Productivity, Darryl E. Powe Sr

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this descriptive qualitative study was to identify and describe the leadership approaches (transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire) federal government employees perceive as most and least effective to enhance employee morale and productivity.

Methodology: Fifteen U.S. Army civilian employees from 5 paygrades were selected based on specific criteria and organized using the stratified random sampling method. The full-range leadership model provided the theoretical framework for the study and was used to design interview questions that focused on the aforementioned leadership approaches. Data were collected and coded from interviews and artifacts, and aided the identification of key themes and …

Curb-Sided: How Technology Disrupts The American Transportation Planning Process, Mary Angelica Painter

Dissertations

The disruptive arrival of Uber, Lyft, and other transportation network companies (TNCs) into American cities ignited arguments on how policy-makers should regulate such entities. Policy debates started among policymakers, companies, and existing industries and interests. In attempts to persuade policy, actors adopted a variety of language and used different levels of government to achieve policy goals. In almost all cases, TNCs were able to gain favorable policy through image framing and venue shopping – the key components to Punctuated Equilibrium Theory (PET). This analysis looks at the policy process of three American cities: Chicago, IL, St. Louis, MO, and Austin, …

Student Perceptions Regarding The Use Of Purposive English In A Spanish As A Foreign Language Classroom, Kacey Booth

Dissertations

In modern American society, diversity is both challenged and celebrated, and inclusion is imperative. This ideology begins in the classroom. Oftentimes, this celebration of diversity, more specifically linguistic diversity, is most visible in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) classes and similar bilingual educational programs. In TESOL programs, students’ international identities are highlighted and students are often instructed using multilingual educational resources to scaffold their acquisition of English. Historically, foreign language teaching also utilized dual-language instructional methodologies. Such archaic teaching methodologies have since been replaced by more modern and immersive sociopsycholinguistic approaches such as Communicative Language Teaching. Such …

A Focused Ethnography: Nursing Students' Perceptions Of Cultural Competence And Social Justice, Wanda Elizabeth Thuma-Mcdermond

Dissertations

Disparities in health care suggest a need for greater social justice in national and international health care systems. Nurses are uniquely involved with disparities since the nursing profession has emphasized social justice not only as a moral value but also as the foundation for social action. Social justice, however, may be difficult to conceptualize, especially for nursing students. Since cultural competence has been identified as an important aspect for decreasing disparities, it may be a vehicle or tool students could use for the social action necessary for social justice. A focused ethnographic design was selected for this study because of …

Nurses' Information Processing Related To Surveillance As An Intervention In The Care Of Stroke Patients, Lori Rhudy

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the nursing intervention of surveillance from an information processing framework. Research questions addressed how surveillance was expressed by nurses during the care of stroke patients and the relationship of cues identified to the focus of care.

Contentment In "Songs Of The Gorilla Nation: My Journey Through Autism": A Humanbecoming Hermeneutic Study, Susan Agnes Bonis

Dissertations

Contentment is a universally lived experience that is inexplicably intertwined with health and quality of life. The aims of this humanbecoming hermeneutic study were to identify the essence of the experience of contentment, to contribute to knowledge about humanbecoming, and to contribute to the knowledge base of nursing. The source of data collection was the text of Songs of the Gorilla Nation: My Journey through Autism. Through a hermeneutic process of discoursing with penetrating engagement, interpreting with quiescent beholding, and understanding with inspiring envisaging the structure of the lived experience of contentment was illuminated in the text. The finding is …

Quality Of Life Of Parental Caregivers Of Children (1-36 Months) With A Tracheostomy, Rachel Abraham Joseph

Dissertations

Children's health and well-being are invariably related to the health and well-being of their parents or caregivers. Many parents undertake home care of children with a tracheostomy who require highly complex and technology driven care that would have been formerly assumed by health care providers. Parents accept multiple responsibilities- that of an advocate, case manager, parent, nurse, and much more. A cross sectional descriptive study using survey method was conducted to gather data on stress, coping and quality of life in parents of children with a tracheostomy aged one month to 36 months.

Non-Traditional Church Involvement As A Life-Course Turning Point: Qualitative Interviews With Religious Offenders, William Hunter Holt

Dissertations

This research project conducted and then analyzed qualitative interviews from former and current addicts and criminal offenders who are voluntarily participating in the Christian faith at the same non-traditional, Protestant church. An abridged case study of this church is also provided for background and context. Life-course theory and grounded theory are utilized.

Both the offenders and this church were chosen in an attempt to better understand how the offenders’ involvement at this house of worship, along with their faith in general, have impacted them. Obtaining the perspectives of the offender is essential for three reasons. First, qualitative research conducted in …

Intersex Experiences, Activists’ Perspectives, And Counseling Implications, Cynthia J. Mulit

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Intersex people are born with sex development differences; for example, atypical genitals. The intersex community is the only sexual minority population subjected to medical treatments in infancy designed to make their bodies conform to cultural expectations for male and female bodies. Intersex activism to stop the medicalized treatments began in the late 1990s. No other qualitative study has focused on the experiences of intersex activists. Four leading activists were interviewed in depth regarding their personal, activist, and counseling experiences. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. A 3-stage intersex identity development model was formulated …