Digital Commons Network^™

Examining The Bidirectional Associations Between Parenting And Adolescent Coping In The Context Of Exposure To Community Violence, Jenny Phan

Dissertations

Coping refers to all the strategies and processes that an individual uses to eliminate, reduce or tolerate stress (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984; Rosario et al., 2003). Within the general coping literature, research has observed that use of approach-oriented coping strategies is associated with positive psychosocial outcomes, and avoidant-oriented coping strategies is associated with negative psychosocial outcomes (e.g., Compas et al., 2001; Wadsworth & Compas, 2002). However, most of these studies have focused exclusively or predominantly on middle-class White participants (e.g., Compas et al., 2001; Wadsworth & Compas, 2002) which may limit the generalizability of these findings to other groups. Further, …

Interactions Of Lewis Acids And Carbonyls In The Presence Of Ligands Or Additives: How Solution Behavior Differs And The Implication On Catalytic Systems, Sophi Rose Todtz

Dissertations

Lewis acids have proven extremely valuable to the field of organic synthesis. Their diverse application in reactions of carbonyl-containing substrates has caused a multitude of efforts towards characterization of solution interactions between Lewis bases and Lewis acids. Though Lewis initially described a 1:1 interaction between one acid and one base, our lab has previously employed in-situ IR spectroscopy to characterize 2:1, 3:1, and 4:1 solution structures under catalytic conditions. These insights have played a critical role in our understanding of catalyst behavior in carbonyl-containing systems, allowing us to describe byproduct inhibition in the carbonyl-olefin metathesis mechanism. The research presented in …

A Descriptive Exploration Of Quality And Opportunities In Outdoor Urban Play Spaces: The Case Of Chicago Public Schools, Katherine Anne Varey

Dissertations

This study investigated the quality of children’s play spaces, both green and built, in and surrounding urban public schools in Chicago. Given children’s declining access to nature and the outdoors, especially in urban areas, the aim of the study was to both assess the current potential for high-quality outdoor experiences, as well as to uncover additional, low-cost, and low-burden opportunities that may exist for enhancing outdoor experiences. Based on a selected sample of 60 Chicago Public Schools, this mixed methods study employed quantitative ratings of play space and neighborhood quality, geographic information systems (GIS) mapping techniques to show distribution of …

Environments Of War: The Pacific Northwest And The Waging Of World War Ii, Katherine L. Macica

Dissertations

The Pacific Northwest served an essential role in America’s “Arsenal of Democracy.” Weapons and material produced in the Northwest proved essential to the Allied victory in World War II. These weapons served as agents of destruction abroad, but became agents of transformation for the places in which they were produced. This dissertation examines four of the most important resources and industries in Oregon and Washington to emerge or expand as a result of the war: hydroelectric power, forest products, shipbuilding, and aircraft manufacture. The wartime development of these industries profoundly reshaped the physical and economic landscape of the Pacific Northwest, …

Parenting And Psychosocial Functioning In Youth With Spina Bifida: Making Connections With Other Cns-Related Chronic Health Conditions, Adrien M. Winning

Dissertations

Parenting practices have been linked to psychosocial outcomes in children who have chronic health conditions that affect the central nervous system (CNS), such as spina bifida (SB). However, there remains a need for (1) more evidence-based assessments that capture parenting in SB, (2) additional research focused on parenting in early childhood in SB, as this is a critical developmental period that has been understudied, and (3) systematic reviews that synthesize parenting research across CNS-related conditions to guide future work. This dissertation includes three papers that aim to address each of these gaps in the current literature. Specifically, the first study …

Lung Resident Memory B Cells Maintain Allergic Ige Responses In The Respiratory Tract, Alexander James Nelson

Dissertations

Immunoglobulin E (IgE) is the primary cause of allergic asthma. Allergen-specific IgE can be detected in the airway of allergic asthma patients even in the absence of circulating IgE, suggesting that IgE can be synthesized locally in the respiratory tract. However, the source of IgE-producing B cells, as well as how IgE responses arise and persist at mucosal sites are not fully understood. To address these questions, we modeled allergic asthma in mice by repeated intranasal administration of ragweed pollen and ovalbumin (OVA). We found that allergen exposure induced the production of local IgE in the airway and formation of …

Disaster Movies And The Perception Of Human Behavior Myths In Disasters, John Carr

Dissertations

This study explored if disaster movies change the perceptions viewers hold regarding human behavior in disasters, and if so, whether these effects are observable six weeks after watching the disaster movie. The study documented the anticipation of disaster myths in human behavior for 121 respondents, providing data that can better inform the discussion of disaster myths and realities. The study found changes to anticipation of disaster myths in human behavior and realities across multiple categories, with statistically significant results related to the factor of Looting Myth. Limitations for this study include a small sample size, and the external influence of …

Identification Of A Potential Pr50gag Binding Site Critical For Selective Encapsidation Of Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (Fiv) Genomic Rna, Anjana Krishnan

Dissertations

Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is an important lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in cats, making FIV a potential small animal model for studying the pathogenesis of human AIDS. Furthermore, due to its phylogenetic distance from primate retroviruses like human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and its ability to infect non-dividing cells, FIV is also being exploited for the development of vectors for human gene therapy. Therefore, it is of paramount importance that pertinent steps in the life cycle of FIV, such as genomic RNA (gRNA) packaging, are delineated at the molecular level. The process of retroviral gRNA packaging relies on …

A Delphi Study Of Effective Strategies For Addressing The Most Significant Challenges To Creating Gender-Balanced High School Career Technical Education (Cte) Pathways, Jon Black

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this Delphi study was to identify what expert high school Career Technical Education (CTE) administrators see as challenges to creating gender-balanced classes across all high school CTE pathways, to rate the significance of the identified challenges according to the experts, and to describe the most effective strategies for addressing the five most significant challenges identified in creating balanced CTE enrollment across all high school pathways. Methodology: This study used a three-round Delphi method to collect data from expert high school CTE administrators. In Round 1, the expert panel was asked to identify challenges to creating gender-balanced …

With A Little Help At Home: The Impact Of Romantic Partner Support On Daily Burnout And Workplace Incivility, Matthew Aplin-Houtz

Dissertations

With rude and discourteous encounters in the workplace becoming more common, Workplace incivility (WI) is at an all-time high. As such, workers experience levels of burnout from these negative social interactions. The literature concedes that the results of these interactions lead to mounting burnout, causing negative physical and emotional outcomes at the individual and organizational levels. Considering that the literature also supports that employees have the potential to recover from burnout symptoms through rest, obtaining the perception of control of their circumstances, and cognitive reframing, the time and activities a worker spends at home carry the potential for minimizing burnout …

Cultural Competence In Nursing School Curricula, Mayra P. Toney

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the benefit of both classroom instruction and an immersive clinical experience for the development of cultural competence skills among student nurses. The 3-D Model for Culturally Congruent Care was the framework used for this quantitative descriptive correlational study. The premise of the model is to draw upon the knowledge that culturally competent care derives from the healthcare provider and client level, an essential factor to the delivery of culturally competent healthcare. A convenience sample of 74 student nurses from two separate cohorts enrolled in a diploma-based program were asked to complete the …

Learning Science: Physical And Life Sciences In Curricula Across U.S. Schools Of Nursing, Valerie C. Sauda

Dissertations

Nursing educators are being challenged to provide curriculum that meets the changing healthcare environment and demand for creative, innovative nurses to assist in transforming healthcare into the future (Benner, Sutphen, Leonard, & Day, 2010; Institute Of Medicine, 2011). The liberal education provided within a baccalaureate of science in nursing (BSN) degree program provides a diversity of courses within the curriculum, including courses in the natural, physical, mathematical, and social sciences (American Association of Colleges of Nursing [AACN], 2008). Although nursing programs have included science courses in curriculum since the early 1900s (Nutting & Dock, 1907), there is lack of nursing …

Exploring Relationships Between Psychological Capital And Perceived Stress Among Newly Graduated Nurses, Rita J. Jarvis-Isaac

Dissertations

Stress among the newly graduated nurses has been linked to physical and emotional distress, high turnover rates, and the quality of patient care. Psychological capital is a positive state of mind that consists of four components (hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism). Higher levels of psychological capital have been linked to improvements in the work environment, and the psychological and emotional state of nurses. Despite the extensive work of researchers exploring psychological capital among nurses, its relationship to stress among new graduate nurses has not been well studied. The purpose of this quantitative, correlational study was to explore the relationship between …

The Lived Experience Of Older Nepalese Women With Urinary Incontinence, Somi Panday

Dissertations

Urinary incontinence (UI) poses a significant challenge for women across different cultures, as their diverse perceptions of UI impact their decision-making and choices, which are influenced by personal beliefs and preferences. Although research on women's experiences with urinary incontinence has shown substantial progress, encompassing various cultural contexts, more studies are still needed to examine cultural factors and employ the framework of transcultural nursing theory. Additionally, limited research has explored the experiences of older women with urinary incontinence in Nepal. This descriptive phenomenological study aims to explore the lived experience of older Nepalese women dealing with urinary incontinence. By applying the …

Stroke Survivors' And Informal Caregivers' Perceptions Of Depressive Symptoms After Stroke: A Mixed-Methods Sequential Explanatory Study, Tanya L. Breckenridge-Trotter

Dissertations

Poststroke depression (PSD) is a frequently occurring complication of stroke that affects up to 30% of all stroke survivors in the first 24 months after stroke. PSD has been correlated with increases in hospital length of stay and hospital costs, increased physical morbidity and mortality, the risk for recurrent stroke at one year, decreased functional outcome, decreased cognitive function, and decreased quality of life post stroke. Estimates are >50% stroke survivors with depressive symptoms are left untreated due to lack of recognition. Moreover, depression in family caregivers of stroke survivors may negatively influence stroke recovery and stroke survivor quality of …

Why We Work: Exploring The Relationships Between Work Rewards, Burnout, And Intention To Leave For Professional Nurses, Jacqueline Christianson

Dissertations

Nurse burnout leads to attrition from hospital nursing positions and the nursing profession prior to typical retirement age. Yet some nurses choose to stay despite burnout. Previous research indicates that nurses stay due to the rewards they receive from work but the relationships between different types of work rewards, work-related burnout, and intention to leave are poorly described. The ability to implement or execute altruistic behaviors may also represent an under-recognized work reward. Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between work rewards, work-related burnout, and intention to leave nursing positions and the nursing profession and …

A Quantitative Study Of Perceived Fitness And Nutrition Levels Of Secondary Educators In Relation To Their Overall Job Satisfaction Program At A Private Midwestern University, Jessica Arico

Dissertations

The profession of education traditionally embodies an idea of educating children on math, science, social studies, and English along with other elective course areas. In recent decades, however, the burnout rates and mental health of educators have become a subject of media attention and the basis for many new professional development programs. The one element wholly ignored in this space is the physiological wellbeing of educators and the impact physical health has on mental health and job satisfaction. This study set out to provide a baseline for beginning the discussion and future research on the physiological impact on educators and …

Trauma Mediating The Severity Of Depressive Symptoms In Veterans With Ptsd, Meghan Curtin

Dissertations

Trauma serves as a risk factor for developing both posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. The purpose of this study was to examine trauma type as a mediator in the relationship between gender and severity of depressive symptoms among veterans with PTSD. The literature shows trauma type plays a role in developing PTSD and depressive symptoms. The first hypothesis was that female veterans who met the diagnostic criteria for PTSD would report higher levels of depressive symptoms than their male counterparts. The second hypothesis was that this gender difference would be partly mediated by levels of interpersonal trauma experience. Self-report …

Investigating The Differences Between Neuropsychological And Physiological Markers In A Ptsd-Only Group Among Vietnam Veterans, Ashtan Madsen

Dissertations

Individuals diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have demonstrated extinction-resistant symptoms and long-lasting impacts on the brain’s functional activity (Krystal et al., 2017; Stark et al., 2015). PTSD illustrates a strong relationship with cognitive functioning, and research has found lower parietal and hippocampal volume and deterioration in brain function and structure, resulting in executive dysfunction, attentional deficits, mood dysregulation, and memory difficulties (Krystal et al., 2017; Stark et al., 2015; Weiner et al. 2017). Sleep has been investigated to better understand its contribution to AD pathologies as well as its impact on PTSD treatment and prognosis. Although sleep’s functions are …

If You Don’T Live By The Sea, You Won’T Talk About Sailing: An Interpretative Phenomenological Approach Of The Polish Immigrant Experience In Chicago And The Acculturation Of Racial Beliefs, Monica Zabinski

Dissertations

There has been a steady increase in research and focus on defining and understanding racism and the role it plays in the ongoing inequality and inequity between individuals of White descent and individuals who are Black, indigenous, or people of color (BIPOC). However, little research has focused on what changes with racial beliefs when individuals immigrate between various countries where racism, discrimination, and racial beliefs may appear differently. Our objective was to increase our understanding of how the acculturation process may impact or change racial beliefs over time. Our research sought participants of Polish descent in the Chicagoland area and …

Predictors Of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy In Nfl Players: A Meta Analysis Review, Eisha Vora

Dissertations

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that emerges as a result of repetitive mild traumatic brain injury and has been studied within athletes of all sports. Repetitive blows to the brain are associated with many pathological changes and an emergence of tau pathology, all of which can lead to presentation with cognitive dysfunction, behavioral changes, and further motor decline in the later stages. After passing the inclusion criteria, a meta-analysis comprising four articles was computed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Version 3. Two hypotheses were examined: (a) the earlier the age of exposure to football, the greater the likelihood …

Impact Of Physical Inactivity On Glucose Metabolism And Skeletal Muscle Secretions In Healthy Trained Rats And Potential Counteracting Effect Of Exercise And Protocatechuic Acid, Hira Shakoor

Dissertations

Modern societies have significantly transformed people's lifestyles, leading to a substantial increase in physical inactivity, which concerns 23% of adults and 81% of adolescents worldwide. Physical inactivity is a major factor contributing to the emergence of chronic diseases, most prominently Type 2 Diabetes (T2D), which exhibits a high prevalence in many countries. T2D is characterized by elevated blood glucose levels due to cells’ responsiveness to insulin. The shift towards inactivity likely occurred more rapidly than the genome's capacity to adapt, resulting in the metabolic dysfunctions underlying the development of T2D. Skeletal muscle is crucial in the onset of these metabolic …

Molecular Mechanisms Of Amyloid-Like Fibril Formation, Sharareh Jalali

Dissertations

Proteins play a critical role in living systems by performing most of the functions inside cells. The latter is determined by the protein's three-dimensional structure when it is folded in its native state. However, under pathological conditions, proteins can misfold and aggregate, accounting for the formation of highly ordered insoluble assemblies known as amyloid fibrils. These assemblies are associated with diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. Strong evidence suggests that three mechanisms are critical for forming amyloid fibrils. These mechanisms are the nucleation of amyloid fibrils in solution (primary nucleation) as well as on the surface of existing fibrils (secondary nucleation) …

Exploring Topological Phonons In Different Length Scales: Microtubules And Acoustic Metamaterials, Ssu-Ying Chen

Dissertations

The topological concepts of electronic states have been extended to phononic systems, leading to the prediction of topological phonons in a variety of materials. These phonons play a crucial role in determining material properties such as thermal conductivity, thermoelectricity, superconductivity, and specific heat. The objective of this dissertation is to investigate the role of topological phonons at different length scales.

Firstly, the acoustic resonator properties of tubulin proteins, which form microtubules, will be explored The microtubule has been proposed as an analog of a topological phononic insulator due to its unique properties. One key characteristic of topological materials is the …

Quantifying Balance: Computational And Learning Frameworks For The Characterization Of Balance In Bipedal Systems, Kubra Akbas

Dissertations

In clinical practice and general healthcare settings, the lack of reliable and objective balance and stability assessment metrics hinders the tracking of patient performance progression during rehabilitation; the assessment of bipedal balance plays a crucial role in understanding stability and falls in humans and other bipeds, while providing clinicians important information regarding rehabilitation outcomes. Bipedal balance has often been examined through kinematic or kinetic quantities, such as the Zero Moment Point and Center of Pressure; however, analyzing balance specifically through the body's Center of Mass (COM) state offers a holistic and easily comprehensible view of balance and stability.

Building upon …

Bacterial Motion And Spread In Porous Environments, Yasser Almoteri

Dissertations

Micro-swimmers are ubiquitous in nature from soil and water to mammalian bodies and even many technological processes. Common known examples are microbes such as bacteria, micro-algae and micro-plankton, cells such as spermatozoa and organisms such as nematodes. These swimmers live and have evolved in multiplex environments and complex flows in the presence of other swimmers and types, inert particles and fibers, interfaces and non-trivial confinements and more. Understanding the locomotion and interactions of these individual micro-swimmers in such impure viscous fluids is crucial to understanding the emergent dynamics of such complex systems, and to further enabling us to control and …

Colloidal Behavior Of Nanobubbles And Their Application In Enhancing Plant Growth: Mechanisms Of Nanobubble Interactions With Microbial And Soil Species, Shan Xue

Dissertations

Climate change has resulted in increasing uncertainties of water resources and disturbance on agricultural activities. For example, the shortage of water resources, land erosion and pollution from runoff significantly affect agricultural sustainability. This dissertation research focuses on the fundamental studies of nanobubble (NB) water and explores the benefits for irrigation to enhance plant germination and growth. Unlike bulk bubbles, NBs exhibit prolonged stability in water and possess large surface areas that facilitate efficient mass transfer and potential tailored reactions (e.g., disinfection). However, the enhancement mechanisms for NBs on seed germination and plant growth remain elusive.

This research first evaluated the …

Data-Driven 2d Materials Discovery For Next-Generation Electronics, Zeyu Zhang

Dissertations

The development of material discovery and design has lasted centuries in human history. After the concept of modern chemistry and material science was established, the strategy of material discovery relies on the experiments. Such a strategy becomes expensive and time-consuming with the increasing number of materials nowadays. Therefore, a novel strategy that is faster and more comprehensive is urgently needed. In this dissertation, an experiment-guided material discovery strategy is developed and explained using metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as instances. The advent of 7r-stacked layered MOFs, which offer electrical conductivity on top of permanent porosity and high surface area, opened up new …

Variable Resolution Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics Schemes For 2-D And 3-D Viscous Flows, Francesco Ricci

Dissertations

Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) is a Lagrangian particle-based method for the numerical solution of the partial differential equations that govern the motion of fluids. The main aim of this thesis work is to better enable the applicability of SPH to problems involving multi-scale fluid dynamics. In the first part of the thesis, the capability of the SPH method to simulate three-dimensional isotropic turbulence is investigated with a detailed comparison of Lagrangian and Eulerian SPH formulations. The main reason for this first investigation is to provide an assessment of the error introduced by the particle disorder on the SPH discrete operators …

Computational And Experimental Investigation Of Elemental Sulfur And Polysulfide, Jyoti Sharma

Dissertations

Petroleum processing results in the generation of significant quantities of elemental sulfur (S₈), leading to a surplus of sulfur worldwide. Despite its abundance and low cost, the use of sulfur in value-added organic compound synthesis is limited due to its unpredictable and misunderstood reactivity. This dissertation aims to address this issue by tackling it from two angles. Firstly, by utilizing Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations, the reactivity of sulfur in the presence of nucleophiles is studied. This facilitates the identification of organic polysulfide intermediates that can be generated under different conditions, as well as the corresponding reactivity for …