Digital Commons Network^™

Acknowledging The Perceived Clinical Practicum Experiences Of Nursing Students To Identify Clinical Accommodations To Mitigate Respective Clinical Anxiety, Cherlynn D. Hill

Dissertations

Anxiety is an emotion that can interfere with the academic performance, health, and prosperity of nursing students. Understanding the experiences as perceived by the student may assist in uncovering the underlying causes of clinical practicum induced anxiety to facilitate further research for appropriate interventions that may help students mitigate their anxiety. This qualitative study used a hermeneutic, phenomenological approach to explore the lived experiences of nursing students who experience significant anxiety regarding clinical practicum rotations. The findings from this study resulted in the overall theme, Am I Really Meant for Nursing? Four subthemes derived from this overall theme were (1) …

Lost In Interpretation: The Lived Experience Of Nurse Interpreters In The Clinical Setting, Byron Batz

Dissertations

The use of language interpreters in the health care setting constitutes a vital part of provider-patient communication but remains a relatively unexplored phenomenon. Registered nurses (RNs) are often called upon to serve as interpreters when linguistically diverse patients constitute a large segment of the patient population. That RNs serve simultaneously in an interpreter role – in addition to clinical and advocacy roles – is a complex facet of contemporary nursing practice in a diverse U.S. culture. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to examine the lived experience of RNs serving as interpreters in health care institutions in Southern …

The Public Muse In Congress: The Punctuation Of American Federal Arts Policy, Elizabeth Deichmann

Dissertations

In 1989, American federal arts policy changed suddenly and drastically when the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) gained unprecedented attention in Congress for controversial grant awards that supported two visual artists. Prior to this, federal arts policy was an insulated subsystem run by experts applying high art aesthetic standards to grantmaking. Informed by punctuated-equilibrium theory (PET), this investigation of congressional rhetoric shows that Republican policy entrepreneurs during this time effectively set a new, more negative tone about federal arts policy by harnessing conservative culture wars messages. The change in tone preceded federal arts policy’s arrival on the broader congressional …

المستقبل القانوني لتكنولوجيا التطبيب عن بعد, إيمان محمد الكلباني

Dissertations

/="/">

The Legal Future Of Telemedicine Technology

Over the past few years, the field of information and communication technologies (ICT) has experienced remarkable advancements that have brought about significant revolutions in various aspects of public life. One notable area that has been greatly influenced by these advancements is telemedicine. Telemedicine has had a profound impact on interpersonal relationships and the supply of medical services in both developed areas and remote. What sets telemedicine apart from traditional hospital healthcare is its ability to bridge the gap between doctors and patients without the need for physical proximity. However, the implementation of telemedicine …

Biological Seawater Desalination Using Green Algae And Cyanobacteria, Abdul Mannan Zafar

Dissertations

Water shortage in many coastal parts of the world is reaching alarming situation, including the United Arab Emirates. Urbanization and rapid population growth are generating critical water demands with an increase in per capita consumption. Seawater is usually treated by membrane processes such as Reverse Osmosis (RO). However, this technology is energy intensive and generates excessive brine as a waste. The solution to this problem can be found in natural remediation techniques that can reduce salt concentration from seawater, such as halophytes. A salt-tolerant species can consume Na⁺ and Cl^- ions and increase cellular growth which is termed …

A Novel Multi-Model Patient Similarity Network Driven By Federated Data Quality And Resource Profiling, Alramzana Nujum Navaz

Dissertations

Smart and Connected Health (SCH) is revolutionizing healthcare by leveraging extensive healthcare data for precise, personalized medicine. At its core, SCH relies on the concept of patient similarity, which involves the comparative analysis of newly encountered patients with those who exhibit comparable similarities from the existing patient cohort. Yet, this approach faces significant challenges, including data heterogeneity and dimensionality. Our research introduces a multi-dimensional Patient Similarity Network (PSN) Fusion model tailored to handle both static and dynamic features. The static data analysis focuses on extracting contextual information using Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT), while dynamic features are captured through …

Aerodynamic & Aeroacoustic Performance Of Wind Turbine Blades Featuring Enhanced Flow-Control, Md Zishan Akhter

Dissertations

Wind energy, being one of the cleanest and most sustainable sources, has undergone remarkable growth in recent years due to advancements in aerodynamics and increased power output. The research community is actively pursuing the development of cutting-edge solutions to further optimize wind turbine technology, ensuring its maximum efficiency and revolutionizing the landscape of wind power.
/="/">This research aims to design and develop flow-control devices for wind turbine blades, employing both active and passive control mechanisms, namely morphing trailing-edge and slot-profile, respectively. The objective is to enhance wind turbine performance across a wide range of wind speeds. The morphing trailing-edge …

Automation Of Crack Detection And Quantification In Civil Infrastructure Facilities Using Deep Learning Techniques, Luqman Ali

Dissertations

Cracks are the earliest signs of structural deterioration that reduce the lifespan and reliability of structures and can lead to severe damage. Assessment and monitoring of the facilities are required for lifetime maintenance and failure prediction. Structure condition information can be obtained manually, i.e., through subjective visual inspection and evaluation by human experts. Manual inspection techniques are labor-intensive, time-consuming, and inspector-dependent, i.e., vulnerable to the inspector’s perceptiveness. Automatic crack detection is crucial at the earliest stage to avoid further structure degradation and allow fast intervention. Deep Learning algorithms have become more popular in crack detection systems in recent years. However, …

A Data-Efficient Approach For Effective Diagnosis Of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy From Echocardiography Modality, Moomal Farhad

Dissertations

Left Ventricular Hypertrophy (LVH) is a medical condition characterized by the thickening and enlargement of the left ventricle (LV) of the heart. Accurate and timely diagnosis of LVH is vital for clinical prognosis and treatment decisions. Echocardiography has emerged as the gold standard for diagnosing LVH due to its ability to independently predict long-term risks such as heart failure and stroke. Echocardiography, a non-invasive and cost-effective imaging technology, is instrumental in assessing various aspects of heart health. Among the critical diagnostic calculations made possible by echocardiography, the determination of ejection fraction and heart chamber size is paramount in assessing LVH. …

Assessing Small And Medium Enterprises’ Innovation Capabilities Within A Rapid Economic Transformation: An Empirical Study In Saudi Arabia, Mohanad Jabreel Aboudayah

Dissertations

The theory of dynamic capability posits that environmental uncertainty and organizational flexibility drive the growth of innovation capability at the firm level. Environmental uncertainty is the inability of the firm to quickly and accurately forecast changes in economic conditions. Building innovation capability can mitigate environmental uncertainty and enable the firm to gain a competitive advantage by innovating continually in response to evolving circumstances. Organizational flexibility, a key element of the firm’s managerial capabilities, is necessary but not sufficient to attenuate environmental uncertainty. Organizational flexibility enables the firm to identify and assess emerging opportunities, but pursuing those opportunities requires innovation capability. …

Late Cretaceous Ophiolite Emplacement And Cenozoic Collisional Tectonics In The Northern Uae: Insights From Broadband Magnetotelluric Data, Biruk Abera Cherkose

Dissertations

The Late Cretaceous obduction of the Semail Ophiolite onto the rifted passive Arabian margin and the Cenozoic collisional tectonics with the final closure of the Neotethys Ocean are major contributors to the present-day crustal architecture of the northern United Arab Emirates. The emplacement of the Semail Ophiolite and the progressive accretion of the underlying thrust sheets onto the previous Arabian rifted margin in the Cenomanian resulted in lithospheric flexure of the Arabian Platform and led to the formation of a Foreland basin adjacent to the mountain belt in the United Arab Emirates and Oman. Tectonic stacking of the foreland sediments …

Identification And Functional Characterization Of Two Novel Ring-Type E3 Ligases From Sesuvium Verrucosum, Fayas Thayale Purayil

Dissertations

Drought and salinity pose significant environmental challenges that impact the growth and productivity of plants. Sesuvium verrucosum is a succulent halophyte species of the Aizoaceae family. Halophytes have evolved specialized mechanisms to thrive in saline environments. Studying these adaptations can provide valuable insights into how plants cope with stress, thereby improving the resilience of crops and other plant species to combat salinity stress. In plants, the Ubiquitin-Proteasome System (UPS) is crucial in maintaining cellular homeostasis and regulating protein levels, particularly in stress responses. E3 ubiquitin ligases play a major role in identifying targets and transferring ubiquitin to those targets. Among …

A Consortium Of Microalgae And Wastewater Activated Sludge To Generate Biohydrogen, Muhammad Asad Javed

Dissertations

Hydrogen is a clean source and carbon-free source of energy that can be generated photobiologically using green microalgae with 122 kJ/g of energy output which is 2.75 times that of hydrocarbon-based fuels. However, challenges, such as presence of molecular oxygen (O₂) within the cells, hinder their practical application. Molecular O₂, emanating from the activity of photosynthesis, acts as a powerful and effective switch that turns off bioH₂ production activity. The objective of this research was to develop an innovative approach to increase the yield and sustain bioH₂ photoproduction. For this purpose, a consortium of …

Predictive Modelling Of Road Deterioration Using An Artificially Intelligent Bayesian Belief Networks Approach, Babitha Elizabeth Philip

Dissertations

The ability to predict road deterioration is the cornerstone for developing a reliable Pavement Management System (PMS) that optimizes pavement maintenance programs. Such prediction capacity becomes increasingly important, especially when highway agency funds are confined. This research focuses on the development of prediction models based on an artificial intelligence technique, Bayesian Belief Networks (BBN), that aid decision-makers in forecasting expected road distress curves on the lights of various (e.g., environmental, traffic, and road-specific) factors and maintenance decisions. The novelty of this research revolves around deploying BBNs which allow analysts to yield Markovian predictions of annual road deterioration based on incomplete …

Quad Bike Injuries In The United Arab Emirates: Evidence For Injury Prevention Strategies, Preetha Menon Karuveetil

Dissertations

Quad bikes, also known as All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs), are versatile vehicles designed for navigating uneven terrain. Originally intended for agricultural purposes, they have gained popularity for recreational use, particularly in the middle east, notably the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While these vehicles offer health benefits, they are associated with substantial safety risks, resulting in injuries ranging from lacerations to severe traumatic injuries, imposing a significant economic burden on healthcare systems.

This research addresses a critical gap in the existing literature by focusing on quad bike injuries in the unique context of the UAE, taking into account its desert environment, rider …

First Principles Investigation Of Energy Harvesting Materials For Green Environment, Mehreen Javed

Dissertations

The cutting-edge research of materials enables the discovery of novel energy harvesting materials. In this project the structural, electronic, magnetic, thermodynamic, thermoelectric, and optical properties of different energy harvesting materials are studied. The main objective of this work is primarily to study thermoelectrically efficient half-heuslers and photovoltaically active perovskites. Variant schematics of innovative compounds with defect introduction are investigated. The compositionally altered compounds designed by introducing crystallographic defects in terms of substitutional or interstitial dopants, offer new trends of material properties. To accomplish the task, Density Functional theory based computational packages (VASP and Wein2K) are used. Using defect and strain …

Assessing Preschool Children In Uae: Development Of The Preschool Autism Checklist (Pac) For Teachers, Omniah Gharib Alqahtani

Dissertations

This study aims to develop a new assessment tool for teachers to recognize and evaluate early signs of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in preschool children in the UAE. The study also discussed the cultural characteristics of the Gulf region and their impact on ASD. The available ASD instruments may be unclear in language and difficult to understand for regular teachers. However, a Preschool Autism Checklist (PAC) has been developed that is specifically tailored to the sociocultural norms of the Arab Gulf Countries. The ASD symptoms were taken from the DSM-5 (APA, 2013) as a reference source, while ASD scales incorporated …

Not All Best Practices Result In Best Performances: Two Empirical Studies Of Online Accounting Education, Mark Sanders

Dissertations

Exploring the impact of specific pedagogical strategies in online accounting education on student learning outcomes is central to this research. This two-study dissertation focuses on the influence of course delivery methods on student performance and the mediating function of accounting efficacy. A diverse sample of accounting and business students was quantitatively analyzed to determine the relationship between course structure, classroom justice, students’ motivation and their accounting efficacy, applicability of learned material, and final grades. Even though certain teaching practices were advantageous, the combination of these practices did not always lead to improved student performance, according to the findings. Significant determinants …

A Narrative Analysis Of Spiritual Coping In Individuals With Terminal Heart Failure, Clayton C. Clark

Dissertations

Approximately 6 million Americans have heart failure with treatment costs estimated at $30.7 billion annually. Those in late stages of the disease experience profound physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering. Spiritual wellbeing has been linked to quality of life as well as mental and physical health in patients with heart failure. While holistic nursing care promotes spiritual coping, barriers exist. Currently, nursing lacks theory to explain spiritual coping processes in patients with heart failure, which leaves nurses ill-equipped to promote spiritual wellbeing in providing care to patients. In this study, I employed open-ended interviewing and narrative analysis techniques to gain a …

Understanding The Unique Needs, Experiences And Strategies Used By Icu Nurses To Be Resilient During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Teenu Xavier

Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic presented numerous challenges for nurses working in intensive care units (ICUs), leading to a significant impact on their mental and psychological well-being. Despite these challenges, resilience is recognized as a protective factor for ICU nurses that can enhance the well-being of healthcare professionals and enable them to cope effectively with stressors and challenges. But there is a gap in the literature about the experiences, unique needs, and resilience strategies used by ICU nurses in the United States (U.S.).

The purpose of this dissertation research was to complete three interrelated projects in order to gain a better understanding …

The Lived Experience Of Afghan Women Refugees In Three Metropolitan Areas Of The Southeastern Us: A Phenomenological Study, Brenda Brown

Dissertations

The global refugee crisis has reached epic proportions. Statistics from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR, 2016) reported that in 2015 a record 65.3 million people worldwide, or 39,976 people per day, were displaced, either within their native countries or as asylees and refugees. Afghanistan, from 1980-2014, was the country with the largest number of outgoing refugees and it now ranks third in the world. At the opposite end of the continuum the United States remains the primary host country for refugees, asylees, and resettled refugees from all countries, including Afghanistan. The refugee experience is fraught with challenges …

The Caregiver Of The Child With Cerebral Palsy: The Unnoticed Victim, Taylor Tusinski

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to better understand the overall quality of life (QoL) in the primary caregiver who provides care to the child or adolescent, aged 0-17 with mild, moderate, or severe Cerebral Palsy (CP). This study aligned with a nonexperimental or observational design and examined the severity level of CP and the QoL in the mother and/or father.

For research question 1, regression results indicated that the overall model did not significantly predict the mother’s and father’s QoL [R² = .000, R² _adj = -.012, F(1,80) = .003, p = .957]. Regression results indicated that …

A Critical Examination Of Clinical Teaching In Undergraduate Nurse Education, Lisa Mckenna

Dissertations

Clinical education is an integral part of undergraduate nurse education. Whilst extensive research has explored roles of clinical teachers and clinical teaching, largely through perceptions of their effectiveness, little is known from clinical teachers about how they perceive their work, factors that shape their work, and what clinical teachers themselves shape. It is the development of clinical teaching both from historical and current perspectives that formed the basis for this unique study which adds new understandings to existing knowledge around this important area of nurse education.

The Effects Of Mindfulness On Depression In Dialysis Patients, Nakeia Saddler

Dissertations

Abstract

Problem: Depression is a prevailing global health issue and a typical complication of dialysis patients. This quality improvement project's purpose was to evaluate mindfulness on depression in dialysis patients, aged 18-93, who are on dialysis and participated in a mindfulness program over three months.

Methods: A descriptive, prospective, and retrospective design was used to assess depression pre- and post-implementation of a mindfulness telephone line over three months. A convenience sample of twenty adults aged 18-83 who use this hemodialysis center on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday was utilized. The Iowa Model is the framework selected to guide the implementation of …

What’S Medical School Got To Do With It?: Health Professionals And Medical Education In Maternal Health Disparities, Skky Martin

Dissertations

A plethora of research exists on maternal health disparities, highlighting both its variation across ethnoracial identity and causes of it. Similarly, much research exists on the professional socialization of medical students. However, there is a lack of research that bridges the two seemingly disparate literature together. Maternal health outcomes are greatly influenced by doctor-patient interactions. During medical school, medical students learn what it means to be a physician and how to interact with patients. A key component of the professional socialization of medical students is the medical school curriculum, including both pre-clinical courses and clerkships. It is through the curriculum …

Creative Disobedience: Dorothee Sölle's Political Theology And Ethics For U.S. Christian Contexts, Dannis Matteson

Dissertations

This dissertation adapts Dorothee Sölle’s concept of creative disobedience to account for those histories of obedience to structures of domination and to foster moral agency that disrupts and dismantles structures of domination. The first two chapters contextualize and summarize Dorothee Sölle’s critique of obedience and her warning against the way in which the obedient social character yields a “Christofascist” society. Chapter II considers the extent to which Christofascism already exists in US society today through Andrew L. Whitehead and Samuel L. Perry’s study of the political and cultural prevalence of Christian nationalism. Chapter III contextualizes Dorothee Sölle’s theoretical critique of …

Cancer Survivor Empowerment Through Patient-Reported Outcomes, Mary Patricia Johnston

Dissertations

Background: Conventional approaches for assessing and managing symptoms in cancer survivors are unlikely to be effective in cancer survivorship care because clinician-driven assessment limits the voice of the cancer survivor while the burden and complexity of cancer care increases. Yet, cancer survivors are not prepared for the shift from clinician-driven assessment and management of symptoms to cancer survivor self-report of symptoms and self-management of their own care. There are gaps in clinician assessment, and no studies describe how patient empowerment may facilitate the cancer survivor’s ability to assume the responsibilities of monitoring, reporting, and managing symptoms as the cancer survivor …

Enshrining Memory: The Production Of An American Catholic Past, Emily Arledge

Dissertations

American Catholics throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries advocated for a canonized American. To promote a candidate, organizers of canonization causes collected objects related to the person’s life and curated exhibits to educate Catholics about the candidate. American shrines became intertwined with creating museums or heritage tourism sites for Catholics to encounter their faith and learn about their place within the nation’s history. This dissertation argues that shrines create an American Catholic public memory by interpreting the lives of saints and potential saints through the American past, situating themselves into a national story, and reproducing a saint’s memory for future …

Barriers And Facilitators To Library Social Work Practice In The United States: A Mixed-Methods Study, Margaret Ann Paauw

Dissertations

Background and Purpose: Library social work is an emerging field where libraries and social workers partner to meet the psychosocial needs of library patrons. With libraries being situated as the last truly public spaces, they are positioned as centers of communities and have called upon the field of social work to assist in navigating the changing landscape of their patrons. Library social work has been around for over ten years, yet research has struggled to keep up with practice. This study was the first nationwide study on library social work from the perspective of the people who are doing the …

Warmth And Support: The Importance Of Parenting Behaviors On Child Symptoms Among Mexican Immigrant Families, Yvita Bustos

Dissertations

This dissertation seeks to expand research regarding warmth and support among low-income, Latino immigrant families, specifically families of Mexican-origin, and how these parenting behaviors impact child internalizing symptoms and externalizing behaviors. The first study titled, “Effects of Familism, Parenting, and Family Cohesion on Child Internalizing Symptoms among Mexican Immigrant Families” explored how familism may promote warmth and support, in addition to family cohesion, and how these factors may impact child internalizing symptoms during middle childhood among Mexican immigrant families. The second study, titled “Stress and Child Internalizing Symptoms: Examining the Moderating Role of Latino Fathers' Warmth and Support using Mixed …