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Public Health Implications Of State-Level Public Health Organizational And System Structures, Cameron Ferguson Hays

Dissertations

Public health thought leaders such as the Institute of Medicine and National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine have long been concerned about the lack of standardization among state-level public health systems (IOM, 1988; NASEM, 2023). However, little research studies these systems, their structures, and whether structural constructs affect population health outcomes.

This study attempted to examine the structural constructs that make up these systems and the impact of those constructs using an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design. Variables from management science were qualitatively extracted from materials describing all 50 state-level public health systems. Those variables were then analyzed using a …

Single-Shot Mev-Resolution Hard X-Ray Spectrograph For Cavity-Based X-Ray Free Electron Laser, Keshab Kauchha

Dissertations

The Cavity-Based X-ray Free Electron Laser (CBXFEL) is a possible future direction in the development of fully coherent hard X-ray sources of high spectral brilliance, a narrow spectral bandwidth of ≃ 1 − 100 meV, and a high repetition rate of ≃ 1 MHz. A diagnostic tool is required to measure CBXFEL spectra with a meV resolution on a shot-to-shot basis.

The CBXFEL hard X-ray spectrograph is designed to image 9.831 keV X-rays in a ≃ 200 meV spectral window and with a spectral resolution of a few meV using an LCLS XFEL (Linac Coherent Light Source X-ray Free Electron …

Intelligent Health Monitoring Systems Via Flexible Hybrid Electronics And Machine Learning, Masoud Panahi

Dissertations

Advanced data analytics approaches, such as artificial intelligence (AI), are increasingly being integrated into all aspects of patient care. This integration is paving the way for minimally invasive or non-invasive treatment modalities. By combining recent advancements in fabrication technology and computing ingenuity, wearable devices now enable continuous health monitoring and provide data for AI-driven analysis. These intelligent devices seamlessly integrate with the Internet of Things (IoT), enabling remote or “at-home” patient monitoring.

This dissertation study investigates the integration of recent advancements in flexible hybrid electronics (FHE) and machine learning (ML) to develop intelligent health monitoring systems. The developed FHE-based health …

The Inclusion Of Behavioral Healthcare Providers In Primary Care Settings: A Phenomenological Study, Janette A. Hernandez

Dissertations

With the shift toward integrated care, Behavior Healthcare Providers (BHPs) play a crucial role in improving patient outcomes and accessibility to mental health services. However, challenges such as time constraints, role ambiguity, and limited understanding of BHP contributions persist. This qualitative phenomenological study explores the experiences of BHPs in integrated primary care settings. Using semi-structured interviews with eight BHPs, the study examines their roles, challenges, and contributions within healthcare teams. Findings indicate that BHPs enhance collaboration with medical staff and facilitate timely mental health interventions. Yet, barriers such as inconsistent role recognition and workflow inefficiencies hinder full integration. This study …

Artificial Intelligence, Machines, Devices, And Robots: Mobilizing Humanness And Intelligence In The American Techno-Landscape, Carlos A. Batres

Dissertations

This dissertation is an ethnographic inquiry of artificial intelligence (AI) in the techno-landscape of three major metropolitan areas in the United States. It traces the ways in which both experts and non-experts talk about their interactions with AI via machines, robots, and other devices, and how the ways in which people deal with AI-technologies have come to shape how we think about our own ways of going about doing things. The goal is to discern what the social ramifications of this technology may be as relationships and relations are formed betwixt and between people and artificially intelligent things.

Mutual Enjoyment: A Levinasian Conception Of Freedom, Aaron Darrisaw

Dissertations

Established scholars typically regard the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas as one that offers a morally elevated, and even religious, sense to the meaning of ethics. He uses many descriptions to encapsulate his understanding of ethics, but a common shorthand is “the calling into question of freedom.” This dissertation aims to answer the following question: What becomes of freedom after it has been submitted to Levinas’s ethical critique? Engaging this question emphasizes the distinctively political significance of Levinas’s philosophy, a significance that is often regarded as lacking. However, my project treats freedom as a unique prism through which to interpret Levinas’s …

A Delphi Study Exploring Scope And Sequence Of Trauma Education In Counselor Education Master Level Council Of Accreditation Of Counseling Related Education Programs, Alexis A. Hauck

Dissertations

The growing awareness of trauma and its impacts on the social, emotional, and overall wellness of individuals, couples, and families underscores the need for counselor educators to prepare counselors to address trauma symptoms effectively. To bridge this gap, counselor education programs can benefit from expert guidance on the content scope and course sequencing of trauma education in master’s programs.

This research aimed to articulate trauma education scope and sequencing by gathering expert recommendations on best practices for trauma knowledge, awareness, and skill development through clinical experiences in counselor education programs. The grand research question explored expert opinions and beliefs about …

Influence Of Glycopolymer Structure On Amphiphilic, Hybrid, Linear Branched Block Copolymer Properties For Use In Biomedical Applications, Kevin Green

Dissertations

The focus of this dissertation is evaluating and adding fundamental knowledge regarding the structure-property relations of glycopolymers used in the design of hybrid block copolymers (HBC) that are cable of self-assembling into delivery vehicles for biomedical applications. A shift to the utilization of natural materials in the design and fabrication of drug-delivery vehicles has garnered significant attention. Understanding the effects of linear glycopolymers content and composition on the resulting HBCs properties can provide valuable insight into how these materials may be tailored for use in targeted biological applications.

The first chapter introduces current literature on the need for improvement in …

Sedimentary Characteristics Of Flood Deposits In Coastal And Fluvial Environments: Examples From Washover Fans (North Carolina, Usa) And Floodplain Deposits (Mississippi, Usa), Shara Gremillion

Dissertations

Extreme flooding from severe and prolonged meteorological events and / or overbanking rivers are some of the most deadly and expensive disasters globally, impacting millions of lives, the environment, and property. People living in vulnerable areas, such as near coasts and rivers, are the first to be impacted with effects of these flood hazards. Scientific studies and their results can aid communities and officials in planning and preparing for those flood impacts. In this three-part study, flood impacts from coastal storms in North Carolina, and flooding along the Mississippi River (MSR) in the state of Mississippi, USA are assessed from …

The Effectiveness Of Mbsr On The Occupational Stress Of Correctional Officers, Nikolas Kerr

Dissertations

This dissertation looks at the negative effects of the work environment and other factors related to correctional officers lived experience. The intervention concentrates on the effect of mindfulness-based stress reduction on the occupational stress of correctional officers. Correctional officers have always dealt with difficult work conditions, but over the last 30 years the increase in the number of incarcerated people, the lack of retention among correctional officers, and the proliferation of inmates with complex mental health issues and gang affiliations have all created a much more complex and dangerous work environment. Combine this with the new understanding of the effects …

Incorporating Meditation, Yoga, And Reiki Interventions To Reduce Stress, Anxiety, And Mood Symptoms Among The College Population, Kelly Wills

Dissertations

The purpose of this clinical research project is to examine the efficacy of mindfulness techniques and alternative therapeutic practices, specifically, meditation, yoga, and Reiki, in decreasing symptoms of anxiety among college students. The increasing prevalence of anxiety disorders among the college population warrants the need for identifying effective interventions for enhancing mental health outcomes. This review integrates findings from published studies that focus on the impact of these practices on anxiety-related symptoms within college settings. Reviewing these studies reveals consistent evidence to support the effectiveness of mindfulness meditation as it relates to anxiety reduction as well as improvements in emotional …

University Students With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Sex Differences In Identification And Diagnosis, Lisa Mickelson

Dissertations

University students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) face several risk factors and challenges compared to peers without ADHD that can impede their academic success and graduation. It is important to identify and diagnose ADHD prior to entering postsecondary settings to provide students with the best academic trajectory. This is particularly true as the number of students enrolled at universities with ADHD increases. Historically, ADHD has been considered a disorder with a childhood onset. However, past research primarily focused on males. More recent studies suggest females have a different ADHD etiological presentation than males, and that onset is more likely to occur …

The Unconscious At Work: A Psychosocial Study Of Leaders' Unconscious Processes Impacting Participatory Change Leadership, Vanessa Hills

Dissertations

This dissertation explores the varied dynamics impacting how organizational leaders conceptualize and enact their roles in participatory change processes. To that end, a multiple-case study informed by a psycho-social approach and using Free Association Narrative Interview (FANI) methods was conducted. Each case was comprised of a single business leader. The findings, presented through individual case analyses and cross-case comparisons, reveal a discrepancy between leaders’ rhetoric and the reality of their change leadership behaviors. While leaders express support for collaborative change, factors such as a desire for control, fear of failure, and bias toward their own capabilities lead them to adopt …

Examining Mentoring As A Catalyst For Nurse Work Engagement And Professional Development, Cherryl A Rainey

Dissertations

Abstract

Research literature has identified mentoring as a strategic intervention for employee professional development. The Business and Psychology disciplines have used mentoring widely for employee development, but it has not been used extensively in nursing.

Nursing has unique challenges and is constantly changing with a need to meet some of those needs by advancing the development of nurses to serve as leaders and fill positions due to nurse shortages and high turnover rates. Mentoring has also been identified as a vehicle to promote work engagement.

The purpose of this study was to examine mentoring as a catalyst for nurses’ professional …

Organizational Characteristics As Drivers Of Employer Attraction, Naomi L. Akins-Osuma

Dissertations

This research study examined perceptions of attraction to different organizational characteristics based on an individual’s Career Stage in Super’s (1980) life-span model. Using a diverse sample of 230 participants in the U.S. workforce 18 years or older, the study manipulated the opposing Reputation and flexible working arrangement (FWA) conditions of a hypothetical hiring organization in the technology industry. The results indicated that the main effects of Reputation and FWAs on general attraction, intention to pursue, perceived economic citizenship, and perceived ethical citizenship were significant. Although the high levels of Reputation and FWA yielded the highest mean scores among the dependent …

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder In Secondary Instrumental Music Ensembles: A Qualitative Intrapersonal Inquiry, Christopher Sakowski

Dissertations

Executive function is deficient in individuals with ADHD. Playing a musical instrument has been shown to improve executive functions. This study examined if participants with ADHD perceived a connection between playing an instrument in a music ensemble and improved executive functioning, as well as improved ADHD presentations. The research design used for this study was a basic qualitative design, focusing on phenomenological intrapersonal inquiry. Data collection was done entirely through 60-120 minute semi-structured interviews with both music educators and non-music school personnel that participated in instrumental music ensembles as young students. Interviews were recorded using Zoom, transcribed using Microsoft Office …

A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing A Companion Dog Walking Intervention To An Attention Control Education Intervention On The Psychological Health Of Adult Intensive Care Unit Survivors: The Pooch Study, Lindsey Nelson

Dissertations

Intensive care unit (ICU) survivors are at risk for persistent anxiety and depression after hospital discharge that contribute to the psychological component of post intensive care syndrome (PICS). Quality evidence supporting innovative home and community-based interventions that improve psychological health in ICU survivors is needed. The use of companion dogs to improve the health and wellbeing of ICU survivors is a novel strategy not previously explored in the ICU survivor population. The purpose of this randomized controlled trial (RCT) was to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a companion dog walking intervention compared to an attention control education intervention for …

Iranian-American Older Adults' Attitudes And Proactive Actions Toward Planning Ahead For End-Of-Life Care, Zahra Rahemi

Dissertations

Ethnically diverse older adults are the fastest growing population in the U.S. This population may experience transitional processes associated with immigration, acculturation, aging, and end of life (EOL). Advances in technology lead to increases in care options, which can cause uncertainty to make decisions for EOL. Unmade decisions about care prior to becoming unable to communicate are associated with burdens of lastminute decisions at EOL, unwanted intensive EOL treatments for people who may die naturally of old age, financial and emotional costs, and decreased quality of life. In the U.S., a multicultural country with a variety of care options, advance …

Learning To Respond To Thought-Disordered Speech - Nursing Students' Experiences: A Mixed Methods Study, Denise E. Mcgarry

Dissertations

The aim of this research study was to explore how pre-registration nursing students were prepared to respond to people experiencing thought-disorder according to students, recent graduates and mental health nursing academics.

Genital Hair Removal And Sexually Transmitted Infections: A History And A Systematic Review Of The Literature, Alison O. Marshall

Dissertations

Background: Genital hair removal is a popular practice in Westernized cultures and has been associated with the belief that removal is necessary for hygiene. A body of literature exists that has found that genital hair removal is associated with adverse health outcomes, including sexually transmitted infections (STIs). This dissertation aims to detail the history of the practice, why the hygiene belief exists, and to systematically review the existing literature that assesses genital hair removal and STIs.

Methods: Historical, socio-cultural analysis from the feminist perspective was performed on the literature to outline why genital hair removal was adopted at a population …

The Impact Of Disaster Tabletop Exercise On The Nursing Knowledge Of Emergency Preparedness And The Influence On Professional Quality Of Life, Vivian Fuentes

Dissertations

It is widely reported that nurses are underprepared to respond to a disaster event, despite the available resources for emergency preparedness education. The purpose of this project was to measure the impact of disaster tabletop exercises on emergency preparedness knowledge of the emergency department (ED) nurses and its influence on the professional quality of life. Twentynine nurses from a south Florida hospital participated in the evaluation of this evidence-based project. The Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) and adapted Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire (EPIQ) were implemented before and after disaster tabletop exercises. The EPIQ findings included an overall 20% increase in …

A Qualitative Exploration Of Associate Degree Nurse Educators' Teaching Experiences Regarding Health Literacy, Connie Marshall

Dissertations

Worldwide health literacy levels are low. Nurses should be able to lead the improvement of the health literacy of the populations they serve. During a comprehensive review of the literature, it became apparent that previous research regarding the provision of health literacy education within Associate Degree Nursing programs was not available. The Associate Degree is the initial degree that allows the graduate to take the NCLEX-RN board exam, so it was interesting to determine how learners are prepared to discern the health literacy levels of the patient population. The research question, "How do nurse educators describe their experiences with health …

Hors-Piste Universal Anxiety Prevention Program In American High Schools: A One Group Pre-Test/Post-Test Quantitative Study, Lucia Poole

Dissertations

Anxiety disorders are one of the most common types of psychiatric disorders and have been on the rise since the COVID-19 pandemic. Anxiety disorders disrupt the daily lives of young people and are associated with a risk of anxiety and depression in adulthood. Anxiety disorders in adolescents interfere with the daily lives of students and often result in a decline in academic performance. There is a pressing need to implement universal anxiety prevention programs in students' main environment, the school. Along with academics, student mental health should be a top priority for school leaders. School leaders are tasked with implementing …

Generational Differences And Teacher Burnout In The Post-Pandemic Era, Michelin Springer

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the intricate relationship between generational cohorts and the efficacy of technology integration in the context of teacher burnout, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. As educators transitioned from virtual online instruction back to blended or traditional face-to-face learning environments, this study explored teachers’ sense of technological efficacy in adopting and integrating various technological strategies and its relationship with their experiences of burnout during these shifts. Additionally, this study examined how different generational groups may experience teacher burnout and report their efficacy in technology integration in the post-pandemic context. Surveys which …

Improve Exclusive Breastfeeding Rates Through Early Breastfeeding Initiation, Camille Chua

Dissertations

Exclusive breastfeeding can be challenging to maintain. At the project site there was an inconsistent process for breastfeeding support, so an evidence-based solution was sought. The purpose of this quantitative, quasi-experimental quality improvement project was to determine if or to what degree the implementation of the World Health Organization (WHO) Guideline’s Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) Step Four would impact exclusive breastfeeding rates (EBFRs) when compared to current practice among adult postpartum patients in an acute care hospital in Southern California over four weeks. Nola Pender’s middle-range nursing theory utilizing the health promotion model (HPM), and Kurt Lewin’s change theory provided …

Role Of B Cell Mediated Immune Response During Skin Atopic Dermatitis Disease, Hidaya Mohammed Abdul Kader

Dissertations

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is the most prevalent non-infectious skin allergy affecting approximately 10-30% adults and 40% children worldwide. It is clinically characterized by eczematic lesions and elevated IgE levels and is a multifactorial disease that is heterogenous in nature. AD results in a dominant Th2 polarized immune response. Until date, there is no cure for this disease. B cells are key players of humoral immune responses and contribute significantly to allergic responses through IgE secretion. However, recently a subset of B cells termed regulatory B cells (Bregs) have been reported to provide protective role by the secretion of anti-inflammatory cytokine …

The United Arab Emirates Birth Cohort Study: A Pilot Examination Of Maternal And Infant Health Outcomes, Sharon Mutare

Dissertations

The first 1,000 days of life represent a critical window for influencing optimal fetal growth and establishing lifelong health foundations. Recent evidence underscores the significant association between maternal health and nutrition during this period and the subsequent risk of non-communicable diseases, which are responsible for 74% of global deaths. Despite the rapid globalization and urbanization experienced in the United Arab Emirates in recent years, there remains a paucity of research on how maternal health and nutrition impact perinatal outcomes among Emirati women.
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/="/">The primary objective of this dissertation was to profile the nutritional habits, status, and lifestyle of …

Mouse Mammary Tumor Virus (Mmtv) Genomic Rna (Grna) Packaging: Selective Grna Encapsidation Is Facilitated By Long-Range Interactions (Lris) That Facilitate Specific Gag Binding, Suresha G. Prabhu

Dissertations

Mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) is a betaretrovirus that induces breast cancer and sporadically, T-cell lymphomas in mice. MMTV serves as a pertinent model for elucidating the mechanism(s) of oncogenesis and the genetics associated with the development of mammary tumors. Being a rodent retrovirus, MMTV is phylogenetically distant from human and other primate retroviruses; thus, positioning it ideally as a potential vector of choice for human gene therapy. This may circumvent safety concerns such as recombination with other related endogenous human retroviruses. In addition, MMTV is distinct from most other retroviruses, but similar to lentiviruses, in that it has the …

Performance Of Pervious Geopolymer Concrete Made With Locally Available Recycled Concrete Aggregates In An Arid Environment, Faizu Habibu Anwar

Dissertations

This dissertation aims to develop sustainable pavement materials to address environmental challenges in arid environments, specifically in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). These challenges include the depletion of natural resources, excessive cement production, industrial waste accumulation, and stormwater runoff flooding. Cement-free pervious concrete made with geopolymer and recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) are presented as sustainable solutions to these issues. The porous nature of pervious concrete reduces stormwater runoff while using RCA and geopolymer reduces dependence on limited natural resources and mitigates the environmental impact of cement production by incorporating industrial waste materials. In this thesis, the use of pervious geopolymer …

Genomics Insights Into Anti-Platelets Therapy: Unraveling Of Variants And The Implementation Of Clopidogrel-Guided Therapy In The United Arab Emirates, Lubna Qasem Khasawneh

Dissertations

Anti-platelet therapy is a cornerstone in the management of cardiovascular diseases such as Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) and stroke. These medications are essential for reducing the risk of thrombotic events by preventing platelet aggregation. However, variations in cardiovascular pharmacogenes can significantly impact the metabolism, efficacy, and safety of anti-platelet therapies, making personalized medicine increasingly important for optimizing treatment outcomes. Pharmacogenomic testing has emerged as a crucial tool in tailoring anti-platelet therapy, particularly for patients with subtherapeutic responses due to genetic factors. While extensive research has been conducted globally to identify and study the effect of the pharmacogenomic variants that influence …