Digital Commons Network^™

Online Clinical Post-Conference, Face-To-Face Clinical Post-Conference: Effects On Critical Thinking In Associate Degree Nursing Students, Kristie A. Berkstresser

Dissertations

Nurse educators, at every level of pre-licensure nursing education, are charged with developing critical thinking skills within their students. Post-clinical conference is one teaching strategy that nurse educators can employ to help promote the development of critical thinking skills in pre-licensure nursing students. However, traditional face-to-face post-clinical conference is marred with issues and concerns, as identified in the nursing education literature. An alternative to face-to-face post-clinical conference, asynchronous online learning environment, mitigates the issues and concerns associated with traditional post-clinical conference. Adult learning theory supports the use of asynchronous online learning environment. The asynchronous online learning environment promotes student-centered teaching …

Implementation Of The Family Help Protocol: A Feasibility Project For A West Texas Icu, Rebecca Mcclay

Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to determine if there is sufficient bedside ICU nurse buy-in to the Family HELP protocol to make implementation feasible at one county hospital in West Texas.

Implementation Of An Adverse Childhood Experiences (Ace) Screening Protocol For Adults At An Outpatient Medical Psychology Practice: A Dnp Project, Jennifer E. Allain

Dissertations

This DNP project aimed to educate and train staff and providers on ACE screening and implement an ACE screening policy and protocol at an outpatient medical psychology practice. The two expected outcomes of this project, provider knowledge after ACE training and provider compliance with the ACE screening protocol, were measured to determine if a clinical practice change occurred. A paired-samples t-test compared the participants' knowledge of ACEs before and after the ACE educational intervention with a pre/post-test. There was a statistically significant difference in the pre-test and post-test scores. These findings reflected a change in knowledge based on education …

"Cameras Don’T Kill People": Community-Based Organizations And The Expansion Of Surveillance Systems In St. Louis, Missouri, Claire Greene

Dissertations

In many cities, private camera ownership and video sharing partnerships with law enforcement are on the rise. These private surveillance networks have dramatically increased the reach of law enforcement and intensified the monitoring of urban life. Although police use of private cameras has become the subject of contentious debate, our understanding of private camera systems and how they are used by the police remains quite limited, largely focusing on either utopian or dystopian narratives. Drawing on interviews with community organizations in St. Louis, Missouri, that have installed neighborhood surveillance systems, this dissertation seeks to provide some insight into the rise …

Daily Rounding To Reduce Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections In A Rehabilitation Facility, Folashade Oluwafunmi

Dissertations

Despite national efforts to reduce catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs), healthcare facilities continue to report CAUTI events. The project site reported CAUTI rates above local and national benchmarks even though a CAUTI bundle was in use. The purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental quality improvement project was to determine if the implementation of daily rounding by organizational CAUTI champions, using the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Comprehensive Unitbased Safety Program (CUSP), would impact CAUTI rates among adult residents in a rehabilitation facility in Northern California for four weeks. Lewin's change theory and the IOWA evidence-based practice model were the …

Water Management And Corrosion Performance From Protective Polymer Coatings With Spatially Controlled Hydrophilic Domains, Jessica M. Davison

Dissertations

Metallic corrosion has become an annual multibillion-dollar problem for the industrialized world and global contamination issue through the process of repair, removing, and reapplying protective coatings. Typical corrosion resistant coatings are comprised of polymeric coating layers with anti-corrosive pigments, plasticizers, sacrificial additives, and/or other formulation materials, which are formulated to prevent, detect, and manage corrosion. Our counterintuitive approach was to improve upon the understanding of how, when, where, and why environmental contaminants (reactants, mainly water and electrolytes) driving corrosion, propagate and accumulate as localized hydrophilicity shifts within a model polymer coated substrate. Herein, hydrogel particles (HGP) were synthesized of defines …

Experiences Of Associate Degree Nursing Faculty Transitioning To Teach In A Baccalaureate Program, Carleen Joan Graham

Dissertations

In light of the repeated calls for the baccalaureate degree as the required level of entry into practice, associate degree nursing programs are in a precarious position whereby these programs and associated faculty face some very crucial decisions. These decisions include retiring the associate degree nursing program entirely, creating and focusing on baccalaureate programs, and considering which baccalaureate tracks to offer. An issue of concern is the academic leadership's ability to support faculty as they transition to teaching at advanced levels. Few research studies have explored the transition to teaching at advanced levels of nursing education, most specifically, from associate …

The Impact Of Simulation-Based Learning Experience On Critical Thinking Acquisition, Candice Rome

Dissertations

The purpose of this comparative experimental project was to compare the impact of simulation-based learning experiences to traditional clinical rotations on critical thinking acquisition of associate nursing students within a maternal-child course. Innovative pedagogies have been integrated in nursing programs to augment inadequate clinical placement and instructor availabilities. A longitudinal convenience sample of 45 second year associate level nursing students enrolled in a maternal-child course was utilized. Four experimental groups, 24 students were exposed to an eight-hour simulation-based learning experience in place of one clinical rotation. During the eight hour simulation day, students participated in three various maternal-child centered simulations. …

The Effects Of A Hardiness Educational Intervention On Hardiness And Perceived Stress Of Baccalaureate Nursing Students, Paula R. Jameson

Dissertations

Despite the known benefits of hardiness education, no published research has been found on the effects of hardiness education with nursing students. Thus, the purposes of this study were first to determine if an increase in hardiness and a decrease in perceived stress in baccalaureate nursing students occurred in those who participated in a hardiness educational intervention. Secondly, to compare hardiness and perceived stress between baccalaureate nursing students who participated and those who did not participate in a hardiness educational intervention. A substruction of the application of Khoshaba and Maddi's Hardiness Model and the Roy Adaptation Model provided the theoretical …

Barriers To Implementing A Work-Based Learning Program: A Health Science Educator Perspective, Daniel Harrison

Dissertations

Career and Technical Education programs’ mission statement is to supply a skilled workforce for all industries (ACTE, 2021). The Health Science pathway lags behind other industry sectors in active work-based learning programs (Greenfield & Stevens, 2018). Therefore, this study examines the potential barriers to implementing work-based learning programs within the Health Science pathway. The qualitative descriptive investigation into the three types of work-based learning of visits to the workplace, work-like experiences, and employment discovered critical findings regarding healthcare requirements, scheduling conflicts, and access to facilities. Finding 1 details healthcare requirements as the most significant barrier to work-based learning programs. The …

Educators’ And Parents’ Attitudes Toward The Inclusion Of Students With Emotional And Behavior Disorders, Shannon L. Howze

Dissertations

Educating students with emotional and behavior disorders (EBD) has historically been a difficult task for educators (McKenna et al., 2021). The general education setting comes with many barriers when attempting to include students with EBD to the equation. Parents are instrumental to the success of their students with EBD regardless to the setting. Educators may lack in the skills needed to communicate, educate, and understand students with EBD. Without educators and parents collectively communicating and collaborating, students with EBD will not have the opportunity to have the positive experiences and outcomes to be successful. Applying the theoretical frameworks of Bandura’s …

Using The Social-Ecological Model To Better Understand Sexual Assertiveness Among Undergraduate Women At An Institution Of Higher Education In The Southeastern United States, Lisa Wright

Dissertations

This study examined sexual assertiveness among female undergraduate students at an institution of higher education in the southeastern United States from the context of the social-ecological model. An online survey instrument examined sexual assertiveness, sexual communication self-efficacy, campus climate, and sexual scripts. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationships between these variables and all variables significantly predicted sexual assertiveness individually, but when examining the relationships collectively, only sexual communication self-efficacy and campus climate remained significant predictors of sexual assertiveness.

The Impact Of A Five-Day Number Sense Intervention On High School Student's Quantitative Reasoning Skills And Self-Efficacy, Rebecca Steele-Mackey

Dissertations

Understanding numerical quantities and applying this knowledge in practical applications is essential throughout life. A well-developed number sense comes from learning foundational skills and continuing to rely on these skills and concepts in higher mathematical education as well as in adulthood. Prior research shows that K-8 students lack a conceptual understanding of fraction, decimal, and percentage concepts (NCTM, 2009). While there is literature that identifies a deficit in these mathematical areas, there is a need to examine possible activities and interventions that can be performed throughout secondary education courses that support growth in students' conceptual understanding of rational number concepts. …

An Assessment Of Attitudes, Knowledge And Willingness To Disclose Disability And Military Veteran Status In The Higher Education Workplace, Kerri Fontenot Liuzza

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was twofold. In Part 1 of this study, using a quantitative, cross-sectional survey research design, the purpose was to examine the dimensionality of an instrument developed by the researcher, the Employee Disability and Military Veteran Attitudes, Awareness, and Disclosure Questionnaire (EDMVAAD) and the relationships among the three variables of interest. In Part 2 of this study, using a quasi-experimental pretest/posttest design, the aim was to analyze whether a brief training session on diversity policies and practices related to employees with disabilities and military veterans in the higher education workplace, influenced participants knowledge levels and …

The Presence Of Relational Trust In Teacher-Principal Relationships And The Correlation Of Teacher Intent-To-Persist And Teacher Efficacy, Maryum Bilal

Dissertations

Principals and teachers must work together for students to be academically successful. Teachers directly influence the students, and principals directly affect the teachers. Before students' success can occur, the principal and teachers must have a relationship. The development of trust begins with leaders who have quality relationships with their teachers (Bryk & Schneider, 2002). When teachers trust their principals, teachers are loyal and develop self-efficacy. According to Lacks and Watson (2018), teacher self-efficacy is developed through significant interactions with the principal, making teachers feel better about themselves and their collective mission, and they become more effective in the classroom. Trust …

An Asset Model: Identifying Institutional Characteristics And Behaviors That Close Community College Completion Gaps Between Black And White Students, Courtney Lange

Dissertations

The United States fails to meet its own workforce needs, and estimates show that by the year 2025, almost two out of three jobs in the nation will require at least some postsecondary education or training (Carnevale et al., 2019b). Jobs with the fastest growth rate will require an associate degree (Carnevale et al., 2019b). According to the most recent national data from the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) Research Center, one in three students begin their college journey at a community college (NCES, 2019). Only 40% finish a degree or credential within six years (NCES, 2019). The proportion of those …

Investigating The Involvement Of The Tick Vector In The Induction Of Alpha-Galactose Hypersensitivity (Alpha-Gal Syndrome, Red Meat Allergy) In The United States., Gary Crispell

Dissertations

Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS or sometimes called red meat allergy) is a result of the development of specific IgE antibodies to the oligosaccharide galactose-α-1,3-galactose (α-gal) after a person has had exposure to tick bites. This dissertation investigates four common tick species found in North America: the lone-star tick (Amblyomma americanum), the Gulf-Coast tick (Amblyomma maculatum), the American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis), and the black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis) for the presence of α-gal by utilizing a combination of immunoproteomic approaches and carbohydrate analysis techniques.

Anti-α-gal IgM antibodies (M86) were used in immunoblotting to detect …

Psychological Capital And Perceived Employability: Exploring Women Veterans’ Military-To-Civilian Career Transition, Tundra Gatewood

Dissertations

The veteran human capital remains integral to the U.S. workforce and sustainment of its competitive advantage (Carter, Schafer, et al., 2017). Women constitute 17% of 1.4 million servicemembers and 10% of 18.4 million veterans, with a projected population growth of 18% by 2040 (Defense Manpower Data Center [DMDC], 2021; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2020a). Each year, an estimated 30,000 ex-servicewomen enter the national labor force (National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics, 2019; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2020a). Most of these ex-servicemembers turned veterans must navigate the military-civilian divide and negotiate their economic worth in highly divergent and …

Strategic Human Resource Management Practice Integration And Organizational Ambidexterity In Vuca Times, Gizzatta Cook

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

The failure rate of business strategy implementation hovers around 50% due to a lack of organizational ambidexterity in the realities associated with a four-dimensional paradigm referred to as a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environment (Chattopadhyay et al., 2017). Anwar and Abdullah (2021) state that organizational success depends highly on how well organizational leaders manage and administer their human resource management practices. Today's successful organizations must adapt to societal changes to survive and thrive (Chattopadhyay et al., 2017).

Surviving and thriving beyond today’s organizational constraints also involves a business's ability to demonstrate organizational ambidexterity. Organizational ambidexterity is the …

Self-Efficacy And Burnout Among Mississippi Mild/Moderate Special Education Teachers, Stacey Anne Price Frye

Dissertations

This study sought to determine if there was a relationship between Mississippi mild/moderate (certification endorsement number 221) special education teachers’ levels of self-efficacy and burnout, as well as to determine which factors influenced self-efficacy and burnout. Teachers from across the state of Mississippi responded to an online questionnaire that collected demographic data, the Teachers’ Sense of Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Teacher Burnout Scale.

The results of the correlation research showed that subscales of Student Engagement and Instructional Strategies are positively correlated. Subscales of Student Engagement and Classroom Management are positively correlated. The Teacher Burnout survey subscale of Coping had a …

Policy Implications Of Managing Biodiversity And Natural Resources Across International Boundaries, Dillon Brown

Dissertations

Fisheries Management under the best of scenarios is a complex action. It requires thoughtful consideration of resources that tend to be out of sight, widely distributed, highly variable both spatially and temporally, and present dramatic variation in life history and ecology. No one management approach has been developed which can effectively incorporate all these variables. Add to this the issue of transnational boundary movements of these resources, and one discovers that this complex issue needs to be addressed by multiple entities, agencies, and nations to have any chance of success.

This research set out to discover ways in which fisheries …

An Overview Of David Maslanka's "Hosannas" And Its Dedicatee, Gary Green, Justin Swearinger

Dissertations

This dissertation will present information surrounding the commissioning of the composition Hosannas by David Maslanka and its dedicatee, Gary Green. David Maslanka (1943-2017) was an influential composer of wind ensemble repertoire who reached wide acclaim with compositions like A Child’s Garden of Dreams and Symphony No. 4. Hosannas was commissioned and composed in honor of Gary Green’s retirement from the University of Miami in 2015. Green and Maslanka had worked together since the early 1990s, and through their work together influenced numerous music students across several generations.

The dissertation consists of two parts: (1) an overview of the music and …

Characterization Of Innate Immune Responses In Mouse Trophoblast Stem Cells And Their Differentiated Cells, Mona Fendereski

Dissertations

The blastocyst is the preimplantation stage embryo consisting of two major components: the inner cell mass (ICM) and the trophectoderm (TE). The ICM forms the fetus, whereas the TE contributes to the placenta development. Previous studies have demonstrated that human and mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) derived from the ICM are deficient in expressing type I IFNs in response to viral infection. This study investigated the innate immune responses in mouse trophoblast stem cells (TSCs) and their in vitro differentiated trophoblasts (TSC-TBs). I report that, unlike ESCs, TSCs have a functional IFN system. They can express and respond to type …

Anti-Human Trafficking Training For Law Enforcement: An Assessment Of Practice In A Southern State, Patricia Ann Southerland

Dissertations

Human trafficking, a crime hidden in plain sight, does not answer to civility or the inherent human rights established within societal norms. While several factors influence this heinous crime, the absence of training and the incorporation of best practices among law enforcement personnel impairs the proper identification of victims, as well as the arrest and prosecution of facilitators, traffickers, and buyers (Clawson, Dutch, & Cummings, 2006; Dandurand, 2017; Darwinkel, Powell, & Tidmarsh, 2013; Davy, 2016; Efrat, 2015; Farrell, 2014; Farrell, McDevitt, Fahy, 2010; Farrell, McDevitt, Pfeffer, Fahy, Owens, Dank, & Adams, 2012; Farrell & Pfeffer, 2014, Grubb & Bennet, 2012; …

The Role Of Mate Seeking Motives, Status Acquisition Motives, And Dark Personality In Predicting Responses To An Aggression-Provoking Situation, Savannah Merold

Dissertations

Aggressive behavior is associated with many adverse consequences, prompting extensive research on the potential adaptive functions of aggression. For example, there is evidence that aggression may be beneficial for attaining status and attracting a potential mate (e.g., Buss & Dedden, 1990; Daly & Wilson, 1988; Griskevicius et al., 2009). Additionally, several personality traits have been identified as robust predictors of aggressive behavior (e.g., psychopathic, Machiavellian, narcissistic, and sadistic traits; Chester et al., 2019; Neumann & Hare, 2008; Paulhus & Jones, 2017; Twenge & Campbell, 2003). These two research traditions (i.e., evolutionary and personality) have remained separate, with few studies combining …

The Expanding Marine Built Environment And Biofilm Formation Processes, Rachel Mugge

Dissertations

The marine built environment (i.e., places or things made or modified by humans) in the northern Gulf of Mexico is rapidly expanding and includes over 2,000 known historic shipwrecks, nearly 4,100 artificial reefs, and other built structures for natural resource extraction, marine aquaculture, renewable energy generation, munitions dumping areas, and commercial and recreational activities. While these structures have the potential to develop into artificial reefs, acting as biodiversity hotspots that provide food and shelter and facilitate organism transport, it is unclear how they affect biodiversity and ecosystem function in the marine environment. The success of artificial reefs to become ecosystems …

Self-Efficacy, Knowledge, And Social Support On Self-Care Among Senior Korean Immigrants With Diabetes, Jung Eun Kim

Dissertations

Diabetes is a prevalent chronic disease that significantly affects morbidity and mortality among senior people. There are diverse ethnic populations in the United States, and Korean immigrants are one of the minority immigrant groups. Many senior Korean immigrants report language inadequacy, lack of social support, discrimination, anxiousness in an unfamiliar environment, and poor economic status. These barriers limit them from accessing adequate health care services and resources. Although self-care is the most important key part in managing diabetes, senior Korean immigrants with diabetes face challenges to perform effective self-care activities related to various barriers. However, studies about related factors on …

Assessing Perceptions Of Student Engagement And Teaching Effectiveness In A Concept-Based Nursing Curriculum, Jennifer B. Drexler

Dissertations

Educators are continuously searching for ways to increase teaching effectiveness and improve student outcomes for nursing programs across the country. Educational research historically has focused on student engagement and teaching effectiveness separately, and while there is a connection that is presumed between the two in the literature, it is not clearly stated. An important factor in improving student outcomes and teaching effectiveness is the impact of student engagement on learning and the consideration of environmental factors beyond the classroom. The focus of this research is to determine how teaching effectiveness affects student engagement, and what the level of engagement of …

Cross-Cultural Adaptation And Validation Of Lung Cancer Screening Health Belief Scale, Fang Lei

Dissertations

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death and the third prevalent disease among Chinese Americans. Lung cancer screening with low dose computed tomography is an effective method to detect lung cancer. Compared to chest X-ray, low dose computed tomography can reduce the mortality rate of lung cancer by 20% in the high-risk smokers. Since 2013, lung cancer screening has been recommended by most health organizations and covered both by private and public insurances. However, the uptake rate of lung cancer screening is still low in the US, and there are few studies on lung cancer screening among Chinese …

Towards High-Rate Thermoplastic Composites, Chris Croshaw

Dissertations

This dissertation attempts to identify and address the problems associated with high-rate thermoplastic composites. Herein, three primary research thrusts were investigated; the first two chapters focus on the melt-state degradation mechanism of PEKK copolymers and its role on downstream crystallization and thermomechanical properties, the third chapter examines the role of graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) on the crystallization and melting behavior of PEKK 70/30, and the final chapter focused on radio frequency and induction heating of PEKK nanocomposites.

The melt-state degradation mechanism was identified using a combination of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), molecular dynamics (MD), and quantum mechanics (QM) simulations. Melt-state degradation …