Digital Commons Network^™

Intentionality: The Matrix Of Healing, Rothlyn P. Zahourek

Dissertations

The goal of this grounded theory study was to develop a substantive theory of intentionality in the healing context. The derived theory, Intentionality: the Matrix for Healing (TIMH), provides a multi-paradigmatic approach which blends attributes with mediators to create an evolutionary process of development for intentionality in a healing context. Intentionality is understood as a holistic capacity and potential for people to engage in the world in a purposeful, meaningful manner and to grow as a result. Intentionality is the capacity to developmentally differentiate beliefs, knowledge, and skills through which one integrates into a new personhood.

Factors Affecting Self-Efficacy In Caregivers Of Latina Breast Cancer Survivors, Megan C. Hebdon

Dissertations

Informal caregivers provide the bulk of care to individuals with chronic diseases, including cancer. There were 2.8 million informal caregivers of cancer survivors in the United States in 2015. Informal caregivers are vulnerable to poor physical and emotional consequences related to their caregiving role. Caregivers of Latina breast cancer survivors have additional risks related to social determinants of health, which may be attenuated through increased caregiver self-efficacy. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to evaluate a moderating model of self-efficacy in caregivers of Latina breast cancer survivors between acculturation, spiritual wellbeing, and social support and global health and depression.

Ericksonian Hypnotherapeutic Approaches In Chronic Care Support Groups: A Rogerian Exploration Of Power And Self Defined Health Promoting Goals, Dorothy M. Larkin

Dissertations

In Martha E. Rogers' Science of Unitary Human Beings the purpose of nursing is to promote the health and well-being of all people. Health in Rogerian science is viewed as eudaimonistic, evolving well-being which involves actualizing desired health promoting potentials with power as knowing participation in change. This study examined how traditional and Ericksonian hypnotherapeutic support groups facilitated self defined health promoting goals and power as knowing participation in change for 49 participants with chronic physical illness.

Exploration Of Two Methodologies For Measuring Clinical Judgment In Baccalaureate Nursing Students, Marlene W. Call

Dissertations

Senior nursing students need a requisite level of preparedness to safely care for an acutely ill, complex patient once they graduate and become independent clinicians. This level of preparedness may be evaluated by measuring clinical judgment (CJ) with the Lasater Clinical Judgment Rubric (LCJR). The LCJR contains 11 indicators that represent the actions and behaviors necessary for demonstrating CJ. Two methods of simulation, high fidelity patient simulation (HFPS) and objective structured clinical examination (OSCE), replicate the healthcare environment so students may safely demonstrate clinical skills without harming an actual patient. The purposes of this study were to 1) explore the …

The Lived Experience Of Veteran Medics Entering A Baccalaureate Nursing Program, June L. Llerena

Dissertations

In 2017, 755,479 veterans received Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits to attend higher education (VA, 2018). For many returning veterans a rapid transition from military life to student life not only creates academic barriers but also increases stress (Bagby et al., 2015). Studies focusing on transition found 51% of Post 9/11 veterans experienced difficulty transitioning into civilian life (Anderson & Goodman, 2014). Additionally, combat veterans have reported experiencing greater social isolation and emotional struggles compared to non-combat veterans (Bagby et al., 2015). Schonfeld et al. (2015) studied general student veterans and found that: 34.5 % had severe anxiety, 23.7% had …

The Relationship Among Maternal Characteristics, Maternal Dietary Self-Regulation, And The Dietary Intake And Body Weight Status Of Two To Five-Year-Old Children, Andrea Bushaw

Dissertations

Eating preferences and practices are established early in life, yet we have little knowledge about how mothers make food decisions on behalf of their children. These decisions, however, lay the foundation for their child's lifelong food preferences and eating behaviors. Almost one-third of all children in the U.S. are overweight or obese putting them at high risk for becoming an overweight or obese adult. To make a difference in the ongoing obesity epidemic, we must better understand the relationship among characteristics of the mother who controls the young child's access to food, food choices, and feeding practices. This knowledge will …

Nursing Students' Self-Efficacy To Care For Older Adults In Acute Care Settings In Ghana: A Mixed Method Study, Diana Abudu-Birresborn

Dissertations

Self-efficacy has been reported to serve as a motivator for goal achievement and to impact care quality and career development choices. Understanding nursing students' self-efficacy to care for older adults can provide an opportunity to identify gaps and develop strategies to shape nursing students' interest in caring for older adults. This study sought to identify the relationship between nursing students' knowledge about, attitudes towards, and self-efficacy to care for older adults and explored nursing students' understanding of their self-efficacy to care for older adults. The study also examined stakeholders' perceptions about nursing students' self-efficacy to care for older adults and …

Ferrocenium Salt Aided Substitution Reactions And Synthesis Of Glycosylated Curcumin Derivatives, Deva Saroja Talasila

Dissertations

Organic synthesis has been significantly advanced with the employment of transition metal complexes. The discovery of transition metal catalysts provided the synthetic community with powerful tools for accelerating reactions and making them more selective and efficient. Many chemical reactions do not happen without a catalyst.

Iron-based catalysts have several advantages for the chemical industry because it is a non-toxic and ecologically friendly metal. Our group previously found that ferrocenium cations with a 3+ oxidation state of iron-catalyzed propargylic substitution reactions at low temperatures. The sandwich structure of ferrocenes allows substituents to be introduced on the cyclopentadienyl rings, which allows for …

Cell Size Control Mechanisms In The Multiple Fission Cell Cycle Of Chlamydomonas, Dianyi Liu

Dissertations

Size homeostasis is achieved by a balance between cell growth and cell division, but the underlying mechanisms are yet fully understood. Green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (Chlamydomonas) is a unique model for size control. Instead of the canonical binary fission cell cycle, Chlamydomonas uses a multiple fission cell cycle where a prolonged G1 phase is followed by rapid alternative n rounds of S/M (DNA synthesis and mitosis) cycles to produce 2ⁿ daughter cells. Two size checkpoints show size-dependence: the Commitment checkpoint governs a minimum size for a cell to divide at least once, and the S/M checkpoint governs the division …

Blazing Trails For Midwifery Care: Oral Histories Of Georgia's Pioneer Nurse-Midwives, Eileen J. B. Thrower

Dissertations

The first nurse-midwifery practice in Georgia was founded by Dr. Elizabeth Sharp in 1971 at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. The profession of nurse-midwifery expanded in the 1970s and 1980s due to the work of pioneering nurse-midwives who are now mostly retired. The oral histories of Georgia's pioneer nurse-midwives hold valuable lessons for today's nurse-midwives as they continue providing high-quality care to women and newborns. The purpose of this study was to collect and preserve nurse-midwives' oral testimonies surrounding the establishment of the midwifery profession in Georgia in order to increase understanding of economic, political, and social influences impacting nurse-midwifery …

Nursing Out Of The Parish: A History Of The Baltimore Lutheran Deaconesses 1893-1911, Lisa M. Zerull

Dissertations

Established by the Lutheran General Synod in 1895, the Baltimore Lutheran Deaconess Motherhouse and Training School offered a unique women's ministry in America. Lutheran women trained as deaconess nurses joined other women religious, social reformers, and urban progressives in addressing the overwhelming needs of vast numbers of immigrants and rural Americans challenged by poverty and disease that resulted from increased immigration, industrialization, and overcrowding in the 1890s.

The purpose of this research was to identify, describe, and analyze the history of the Baltimore Lutheran deaconess nurses between 1893 and 1911. Using traditional historical methods and a social history framework, the …

A Mixed Methods Study Regarding The Impact Virtual Education Had On Teachers During Covid-19, Brandon Richard Foley

Dissertations

Virtual learning and COVID-19 drastically changed the landscape of education. School districts were forced to think about education differently, and COVID-19 led schools and communities into unfamiliar territory with daunting trials and tasks (Pressley & Ha, 2021). The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to add to existing research and examine how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted teachers and school districts during their transition to virtual learning. The social cognitive theory and self-efficacy theory were utilized as the conceptional framework of the study. Phase one of the study included a quantitative survey from one Southwest Missouri school district. A focus group …

A Mixed-Methods Study Examining The Impact Of Incentivized Medical Insurance Premiums On Wellness Program Participation And Results At A Four-Year, Private, Midwestern University, Candace L. Terry

Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to examine the impact that incentivized medical insurance premium rates have on wellness plan participation and aggregate wellness results at a Midwestern private, four-year university. Leveraging the Health Belief Model, the researcher sought to compare aggregate wellness results and wellness program participation before and after the medical insurance premium incentive program was implemented. The researcher utilized Likert-scale questions followed by open-ended questions to gain insight into participants’ perceptions of the wellness incentive program. The quantitative portion of this study applied Thorndike’s theory of connecting “A specific response is connected to a specific stimulus …

Beliefs About Homework, Elizabeth Rose Taylor Smith

Dissertations

This mixed-methods research study aimed to learn the perspectives regarding homework of parents and teachers of students in grades two, three, and four. The definition used to define homework was based on Simplicio’s (2005) definition of homework as a period set aside to put in a plan to expand learning skills and support information that the student gained while in the classroom. There were three research questions that guided this mixed-methods research study; What are the parents’ perceptions of second, third, and fourth-grade students regarding homework? What are the perceptions of second, third, and fourth-grade teachers regarding homework? What are …

Contextualizing The Emotive & Experiential Trajectories Of Arab Bilinguals In Higher Education: An Exploratory Sequential Mixed Method Study, Sabahet Bruncaj

Dissertations

Higher Education institutions in the UAE are increasingly adopting English as a Medium of Instruction. For native Arabic speakers, this educational practice has established a lingual impasse that relegates entry and serves as a signifier of ability. This study explores the experiential and emotional histories of conducting academic studying in a second language. The study is grounded in the theoretical framework of Emotions, whereby the exploration of affect and emotion-specifiers on bilinguals within the EMI in HE experiences and identified. The study applied an Exploratory Sequential Mixed method design led by Qualitative semi-structured interviews with Ph.D. students (n=11). This framework …

Learning By Design: The Transformative Pedagogical Experience Of College Students In Extending Monomodal Texts Into Multimodal, Najah Asaad Al Mohammedi

Dissertations

The architectonic shift in the semiotic, technology, and social environment paves the way to new perspectives of transformative pedagogies in multiliteracies and multimodal literacy for meaning-making through the configuration of gesture, space, image, sound, action, and various modes. Through a mixed-method explanatory sequential design, this study explores college students’ critical reading comprehension by changing a monomodal text into a multimodal one. In the redesigning process, a group of college students (n=4) were oriented to change a provided monomodal text into a multimodal text for the sake of understanding how the enactment of two different modes of a reading text contributes …

Acrylamide Mitigation By Novel Lactic Acid Bacteria And Bifidobacteria Isolated From Various Food Products: Optimization Of Mitigation, Effect Of Simulated Gastrointestinal Conditions, And Potential Mechanism, Amal Salem Albedwawi

Dissertations

Acrylamide is a toxic compound that is formed in heated carbohydrate-rich food. Scientists have analyzed acrylamide levels before, during, and after processing in order to study the mitigation strategies and, due to the lack of knowledge, this study aimed to: 1) screen 120 newly isolated LAB for their acrylamide removal; 2) optimize the conditions for 6 selected strains of pH, temperature, time and salt, using the Box-Behnken design (BBD), and analyze their acrylamide removal levels; 3) investigate acrylamide removal abilities of the selected LAB isolates under in-vitro digestion conditions, using the INFO-GEST 2.0 model; and 4) examine the mechanism of …

School Leadership Behaviors And Practices, Teacher Turnover, And Teacher Retention In The United Arab Emirates: A Triangulation Approach, Ayeda Abdulla Al Shebli

Dissertations

School leadership and school leaders' behaviors and practices can significantly affect the behavior of teachers. Retaining teachers in the teaching profession is important. Unfortunately, many teachers around the world have left or are deciding to leave this profession, a phenomenon called “teacher turnover”. High teacher turnover affects the overall quality of teaching and learning. Based on 2015 data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, teacher turnover is high in the United Arab Emirates. There are many factors that contribute to teacher turnover. This study investigated the factors affecting teachers' turnover by exploring the role of school leadership behaviors …

The Impact Of Internal And External Factors On Female Enrollment In Vocational Training Institutes In The United Arab Emirates: A Phenomenological Qualitative Study, Saada Mubarak Amro

Dissertations

Educational institutes around the world and vocational training institutes, in particular, are concerned with students’ participation and enrollment rates. Great emphasis is placed on the vocational sector and its role in establishing a knowledge-based economy in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as articulated in the UAE Vision 2021, its economic foresight 2030, and in the recent 50th-anniversary statement released in 2019 by HH Mohammed Rashed Al Maktoum. The importance of this sector is its significance in diversifying the economy, providing employment, and equipping both employed and unemployed nationals with the vocational skills required by local and international markets and industries. …

Impacts Of Intermediate And Long-Term Vitamin D Deficiency On The Murine Gastric Epithelial Cells And Acid Secretion, Shaima Raji Sirajudeen

Dissertations

The biological functions of vitamin D (VD) are diverse. It influences immunological response, cell proliferation and differentiation, and calcium homeostasis. However, over one billion people globally are VD deficient. The VD receptors, VDR and PDIA3, mediate the biological activities of VD. Studies on the biological roles of VD are numerous but very little on the stomach. The stomach is divided into three main parts – forestomach, corpus and antrum. Gastric glands, which make up the functional units of the stomach, are made up of numerous cell lineages and are located in the corpus and antrum, which are the glandular parts …

Investigations Of The Potential Use Of Macrophages In Gastric Stem Cell Activation/Differentiation And Ulcer Healing, Subi Sugathan

Dissertations

Stomach erosions and ulcerations are common health problems, and their therapy requires tissue regeneration. While current therapy for these disorders focuses on targeting parietal cells to inhibit acid secretion, the role of stem cells in the regeneration process is neglected. In this study, the aim is to investigate the potential use of macrophages to activate gastric stem cells in co-culture experiments and in a mouse model of gastric ulcer. Bone marrow-derived macrophages were prepared and cultured in the presence of lipopolysaccharides and interleukin-4 to, respectively, induce their differentiation into pro-inflammatory (M1) and anti-inflammatory (M2) macrophages. Polarization of these phenotypes was …

The Relationship Between School Principals’ Resilience, Job Satisfaction, Self-Efficacy, Perceived Organizational Support, And Thriving In School Leadership Positions In The Uae Government Schools, Noura Abdulla Al Azzani

Dissertations

This dissertation is concerned with school principals who often come across adversities and hardships that challenge their strength and flexibility and impose immense pressure on them. Some of them break; others cope or overcome the adversities. The main objective of this dissertation is to explain why school leaders thrive in the face of their pressing mediating roles whereas others may not even survive within the UAE context. The socially embedded model of thriving at work is adapted to explain the relationship between the thriving level and five variables that could influence and mediate the relationship: the internal factors of resilience, …

The Relatioship Between Principals’ Leadership Behaviors And Teachers’ Innovative Work Behavior., Ameera Ahmed Almessabi

Dissertations

This research was conducted to explore the influence of school principals’ leadership behaviors on their teachers’ Innovative Work Behavior (IWB). This study was guided by path–goal theory. It seeks to identify leadership behaviors that may enhance teachers’ IWB. This work also employs a mixed-methods approach, using a convergent parallel design that involves collecting quantitative and qualitative data in parallel. These data were then analyzed separately before being merged. Questionnaires were used to test the prediction of path–goal theory, that is, that the relationship between principals’ behaviors and teachers’ innovation, as perceived by teachers, will influence their IWB. This research follows …

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Screening, Diagnosis And Knowledge In The United Arab Emirates, Maryam Mohammed Bashir

Dissertations

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a significant public health problem with short- and long-term consequences. If undiagnosed and untreated, it is associated with multiple adverse perinatal outcomes and future risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and other cardiovascular diseases in affected mothers and children. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), up to 1 in 4 pregnancies are affected by GDM. This PhD dissertation explores GDM screening, diagnosis, guideline use, and knowledge to provide a basis for primordial, primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of prevention in GDM care in the UAE. Three studies were conducted to achieve the PhD …

A Longitudinal Study On The Impact Of Occupational Health And Safety Practices On Employee Productivity At Sibca Llc, Maryam Ibrahim Mohamed Hussain Lari

Dissertations

Occupational health and safety (OHS) refer to practices that businesses use to proactively ensure the health and safety of employees. OHS scholars believe companies can use such practices to improve the health and safety of their organization and employee productivity. This study assesses how OHS practices can impact employee productivity at SIBCA LLC, a UAE-based company. It employed a longitudinal research design with pre- and post-intervention data collection to determine the effect of OHS practices on employee productivity. The study sample comprised 293 SIBCA LLC employees. Participants completed the same questionnaire twice, and productivity data were collected twice, 13 months …

Integrating Kano Model With Data Mining Techniques To Enhance Customer Satisfaction, Khaled Abdulla Ali Al Rabaiei

Dissertations

The business world is becoming more competitive from time to time; therefore, businesses are forced to improve their strategies in every single aspect. So, determining the elements that contribute to the clients' contentment is one of the critical needs of businesses to develop successful products in the market. The Kano model is one of the models that help determine which features must be included in a product or service to improve customer satisfaction. The model focuses on highlighting the most relevant attributes of a product or service along with customers’ estimation of how these attributes can be used to predict …

A Comprehensive Evaluation Of Satellite-Based Precipitation Products And Their Performance In Arid And Temperate Climates, Mohammed Tarig Mahmoud

Dissertations

Accurate and continuous precipitation monitoring is critical to enable effective water resources management; the challenge arises from the spatial and temporal variability of precipitation. The recently launched Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) satellite has the capability to detect and measure all types of precipitation using advanced instruments. Being at its early stages of development, the products of the GPM IMERG (early, late, and final-run-products) need to be validated using multiple spatial and temporal assessment techniques. Several studies have emerged over the past few years evaluating GPM IMERG results over areas of limited size. These areas were set by hydrologic interest (e.g., …

Infertility Characterization, Factors Associated With Primary Infertility, And Seroprevalence Of Genital Infections: A Cross-Sectional Survey In Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Noor Motea Abdo

Dissertations

Worldwide, infertility affects 8%–10% of couples and it could be primary or secondary. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), one in every six couples are facing difficulties in conceiving. However, there is a noticeable lack of epidemiological studies and empirical data characterizing populations seeking infertility treatment in the UAE. Therefore, to inform health policy planning, evidence-based data is required to understand the most common type of infertility and the burden of exposure to genital pathogens. To characterize fertility-treatment-seeking patients, investigate factors associated with primary infertility, and to estimate the seroprevalence of six pathogens known to be transmitted genitally and associated …

The Impact Of Performnace Scorecard On Drilling Operations Effectivness: The Case Of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), Adnan Mohamed Almenhali

Dissertations

The balanced scorecard (BSC) has been newly introduced to drilling operations. This research evaluates the impact of performance scorecard implementation on drilling operations in Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and the ability to develop and construct a new framework for performance scorecards. The oil and gas sector is critical to the UAE since it is one of the main sources of income driving the economy. UAE is one of the leaders in the region in oil and Gas production. As a result, studies to enhance the performance of the industry and UAE companies are critical for overall economic wellbeing. …

Key Internal Factors Affecting Safety Performance In The Aviation Industry, Yasser Salah Elyan

Dissertations

Continuously improving aviation safety and enhancing its performance at both the organizational and individual levels is always considered a high priority by the aviation industry in all sectors. In addition, governments and aviation regulatory authorities have put significant efforts into creating a safety culture with clear safety practices at all levels of the organization. Moreover, international aviation organizations and associations worldwide have established safety standards, guidelines, and management systems that are essential to ensure the successful implementation of safety practices. However, based on the reviewed literature and the researcher's knowledge in this area, there is a clear perception gap concerning …