Digital Commons Network^™

Teaching Strategies Clinical Educators Use To Develop Undergraduate Students’ Clinical Reasoning Skills, Lisa González

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe the teaching strategies nurse educators used to develop students' clinical judgment in the clinical education setting. A significant gap in clinical education has persisted for years with a need for evidence to guide teaching and learning that emphasizes clinical judgment. Concerns regarding underdeveloped clinical judgment skills in new graduate nurses have led to initiatives and research aimed to increase clinical judgment emphasis in nursing education. The following research questions guided this study:

Q1 What teaching strategies do clinical nurse educators use to develop students’ clinical reasoning and clinical judgment skills in the …

The Big Five, Impulsivity, And Problem Gambling In Online Sports Betting, Jeffrey Vincent Bowling

Dissertations

The rapid expansion of online sports betting in the United States following the repeal of PASPA in 2018 has prompted increased concern regarding problem gambling behaviors specific to this modality. Despite growing accessibility and engagement, relatively little is known about the individual differences that may predict increased risk severity for problem gambling among online sports bettors. This purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among personality traits according to the Big Five, impulsivity, and problem gambling risk severity within a U.S.-based sample of adult online sports bettors. The following research questions were explored in this study:

Q1 Do …

Using Educational Communication Technology To Increase Parent Involvement And Build Parent Capacity At A Title I Elementary School: A Case Study, Mary E. Frankovsky

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to gain insight into parents’ perspectives on how rural Title I elementary school personnel can integrate instructional technology to increase parental involvement. Joyce Epstein’s Parent Involvement Framework (Epstein et al., 2019) on school, family, and community partnerships and Epstein's Overlapping Spheres of Influence (1995) served as theoretical frameworks for this study. The study design included both parent and teacher surveys, parent workshops using Google Classroom during which parent and teacher interviews were conducted. The study revealed affordances and constraints for the digital learning platform used in this study and other communication tools …

Understanding The Experiences And Perceptions Of Faculty Supporting Undergraduate Students With Mental Health Challenges, Jenna Ranee Parbati Jamieson

Dissertations

College is a big adjustment for students, and it doesn't come without its challenges, including being in a new place with new responsibilities. This is a stressful time that presents new obstacles and frustrations that can lead to increased stress, anxiety, depression, and mental health challenges that may cause faculty to engage and support undergraduate students with mental health challenges. As students adjust and transition to college, it is vital for university faculty to feel confident and comfortable supporting students from diverse backgrounds with varying levels of distress. By interviewing faculty, a better understanding of their lived experiences and perceptions …

Population Dynamics Of Feral Hemp (Cannabis Sativa L.) Across Illinois, Bryan Scott Foster

Dissertations

Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is an historically cultivated species re-emerging in modern agriculture due to its utility as a fiber, grain, and cannabinoid crop. While industrial hemp refers to cultivated varieties bred for specific agronomic traits and legally defined by low tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content, feral hemp, often called "ditch weed", represents escaped or naturalized populations descended from historical cultivation. These unmanaged populations persist and spread in disturbed habitats across North America, particularly in the Midwestern U.S., raising ecological and agronomic concerns due to their potential for genetic contamination, invasive behavior, and interactions with native species and agricultural systems. The overall …

Spatial Distributions And Occupancy Dynamics Of Carnivores In A Central Hardwood Forest, Maximillian Larreur

Dissertations

Extirpation of apex predators, caused primarily by anthropogenic alterations to natural environments and persecution, has led to mesocarnivore release in these areas. Mesocarnivore release is an ecological phenomenon in which mesocarnivores thrive in the absence of apex predator dominance within the carnivore hierarchy. Mesopredators fill this dominant role on the landscape as de facto apex predators, however, this can lead to changes in inter-guild species space use, predator-prey dynamics, activity patterns, and interspecific competition. Understanding patterns in wildlife spatial distributions, which indicate variability in habitat space use across spatiotemporal scales, is critical for developing effective management and conservation plans and …

One Step Closer To Greater Understanding! Does A Correlation Exist Between Fluid Intelligence And Player Rank In League Of Legends?, Evan Miller

Dissertations

Chess, one of the oldest modern games, has long been a model domain for expertise research. In comparison, research on video games has historically been influenced by moral panic. Cycles of moral panic tend to revolve around preconceived notions of threats, held at a societal level (typically by older generations). Politicians, quick to capitalize, then advocate for policy change based upon their constituents’ fears. Concurrent media reports draw further attention to the issue, amplifying the perception of harm. As the panic escalates, pressure is placed on scientific communities to perform confirmatory (not exploratory) research. This fundamentally biased approach to research …

Collaborative Action In Education: Empirical Explorations Of The Role Of Partnerships In College Readiness Programs, Jose A. Sanchez

Dissertations

Education gaps exist in the United States in large part because not everyone has equal access to the educational resources or role models that will prepare them to seek a college education. To help combat this phenomenon, Federal and State Governments have promoted college readiness programs via collaborative partnerships between school districts, on the one hand, and colleges and universities, on the other.

To better understand the role that partners can play in creating and sustaining college-readiness programs, this study focused on the history and current practices of collaborations involving oversight of college readiness programs in two school districts. Partnership …

The Impact Of Feedback Timing On Work Performance When There Is A Long Duration Between Sessions, Priyanka B. Dave

Dissertations

Performance feedback is a powerful tool central to many functions at work, as it guides, motivates, and rewards employees’ behaviors. To better understand the function of feedback, previous research has examined the impact of feedback’s timing (proximal to the previous per-formance versus proximal to the next performance) on the effectiveness of feedback. However, the findings have been mixed across studies. Studies with less than 1-day between session dura-tions tend to find no difference between after-session versus before-session feedback. However, investigations with multiple-day between session durations tend to find improved performance with before-session feedback. This study used a counterbalanced across-subject design …

Framing The Problem To Meet The Policy Solution: An Embedded Mixed Methods Case Study Of The 2017 Michigan Opioid Laws, Leandra Hawkins Burke

Dissertations

The opioid crisis presents a wicked problem for public administration. Hundreds of thousands of people have died from opioid overdoses in the United States, and countless others have experienced severe opioid-related physical, psychological, and socioeconomic harms. Countering the opioid crisis has been difficult due to interdependencies across different drugs and multiple pathways for abuse and dependence. Many scholars, health providers, and politicians have called for a broad public health approach to combat the opioid crisis, but the full expanse of what that would entail has not yet been realized. What has been demonstrated is that interactions targeting a single aspect …

Examination Of The Association Between Parent Beliefs About Injury And Supervision Behavior, Felicia Acelia Diaz

Dissertations

Unintentional Injuries are the leading cause of death for children in the United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 2021). Several studies have indicated that caregiver beliefs (such as locus of control) are associated with children’s injury risk (Damashek et al., 2005), but few studies have examined whether caregiver beliefs about injury are related to caregiver’s injury prevention behaviors, such as caregiver supervision. Examination of caregiver beliefs regarding supervision revealed that caregiver’s degree of belief in the preventability of childhood injuries predicted self-report scores on several measures of supervision. Caregiver’s degree of …

Immune Modulation Affects Olfactory Glomerular Recovery In Zebrafish, Bonnie E. Ebendick

Dissertations

Adult zebrafish regenerate neurons throughout their lifetime and exhibit rapid recovery from neuronal damage with support from their immune system, making them an excellent model for studying neuroinflammation and brain repair mechanisms. When olfactory sensory neurons are lesioned, their cell death stimulates the immune system by activating microglia and other immune cells in the olfactory bulb, initiating tissue repair and neuronal replacement. This dissertation investigates how the immune system influences recovery from neuronal damage, testing the hypothesis that immune perturbation in zebrafish alters neural recovery.

To investigate the link between immune function and neuronal regeneration, zebrafish received a unilateral lesion …

Mexican Americans’ Attitudes Toward Mexican Immigrants In The United States, Sandra Daisy Espinoza Montes

Dissertations

The United States (U.S.) has often been described as a nation of immigrants. Among the 40 million immigrants in the U.S., Mexican-descent individuals comprise 25% of the overall immigrant population, positioning them as the largest immigrant group in the country. Additionally, Mexican Americans constitute 63% of the Latinx population, making them the largest minoritized ethnic group in the U.S. Considering that Mexican immigrants and Mexican Americans have a significant presence in the country, scholars have called for additional research on attitudes towards Mexican immigrants (Byrne & Dixon, 2016; Flores et al., 2022). However, much of the existing literature on attitudes …

How Was Rehab? A Follow-Up To A Randomized Effectiveness Control Trial Of A Brief Acceptance And Commitment Therapy Protocol For Inpatient Detoxification Patients, Alexander J. Twohy

Dissertations

Residential treatment for Substance Use Disorders (SUD) is a common treatment modality. However, the literature is sparse on modifiable predictors that affect change during the residential treatment stay. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has been shown to be an effective treatment for SUDs. Weststrate et al. (2023), in a randomized controlled effectiveness trial, compared ACT plus medication management to medication management during detoxification. The addition of ACT increased consumer satisfaction and ACT skills use, while decreasing psychological inflexibility and reducing withdrawal symptoms.

This study explored whether the brief ACT intervention had impacts during participants' subsequent residential stay. Forty out of …

Measuring The Accuracy Of Hierarchal Linear Models And Visual Analysis For Evaluating Single-Case Designs, Justin Myers

Dissertations

Behavior analysts often use single-case experimental designs to evaluate behavioral interventions. Data are typically analyzed through the visual analysis of graphs. Visual analysis has several limitations, however. Visual analysis has only moderate inter-rater reliability and small effects can be difficult to detect, especially if data are variable. Hierarchal Linear Models (HLMs) have been proposed as method for quantifying results of single-case designs. HLMs are a type of statistical model that can evaluate the effectiveness of treatment with nested data, whereby sessions are nested within treatment conditions. An advantage of HLMs over other statistical tests is that they do not require …

Measurements And First Principles Calculations On The Non-Centrosymmetric Superconductor Aupb3, Meena Shrestha

Dissertations

AuPb₃ is a non-centrosymmetric superconductor that crystallizes in a tetragonal structure and undergoes a superconducting transition at 4.4 K. Non-centrosymmetric superconductors that lack inversion symmetry are predicted to have an admixture of spinsinglet and spin-triplet symmetry induced by strong antisymmetric spin-orbit coupling (ASOC).

In this work, we investigated the normal and superconducting properties of AuPb₃. We also carried out the Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations to study the strength of ASOC and its impact on vibrational and electronic properties. A high-quality polycrystalline sample of AuPb₃ was grown and characterized by powder x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, …

Mechanistic And Evolutionary Insights Into A Group Of Nicotine And Hydroxynicotine Degrading Flavoenzymes, Zhiyao Zhang

Dissertations

Flavoprotein amine oxidases (FAOs) are key enzymes in various kinds of metabolic pathways, mediating redox reactions via flavin cofactors. While most FAOs function as oxidases that readily reduce oxygen to hydrogen peroxide, a few outliers of the FAO family act as dehydrogenases that suppress the reaction with oxygen. The molecular basis for this divergence in function remains poorly understood.

The work presented in this study investigates the fundamental mechanisms of how flavincontaining enzymes activate or suppress their reaction with different electron acceptors to achieve high turnover rates. The overall body of work is divided into three different sections that (1) …

Multiple Monochromatic Subgraphs In Edge-Colored Graphs, Emma Felicity Jent

Dissertations

Ramsey theory, though a relatively young branch of mathematics, has captivated the attention of graph theorists, combinatorialists, and theoretical computer scientists alike through its raw beauty, versatility, and powerful applications. Before it emerged as a branch of mathematics, the central idea of Ramsey theory appeared in the form of three lemmas in three separate papers by three different mathematicians working on three distinct areas of research. The first such lemma was published by David Hilbert in 1892, followed by the second lemma published by Issai Schur in 1916. However, Frank Ramsey’s renowned lemma, published in 1930, compelled mathematicians to establish …

Historically Minoritized Racial Groups At A Midwestern University: Behaviors, Attitudes, And Beliefs Toward Mental Health And Well-Being, Kemmel Palmer

Dissertations

The rising prevalence of mental health concerns among college students, especially those from historically minoritized racial groups, underscores persistent disparities and substantial barriers encountered within Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs). This qualitative inquiry examined the mental health behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs of college students from five historically minoritized racial groups—Black/African American, Latino/Hispanic, Asian Pacific Islander Desi American, Middle Eastern/Middle Eastern American, and Indigenous/Native American—at a midwestern university. Utilizing a phenomenological methodology, the study employed five focus groups comprising 51 participants representing a wide range of academic levels, gender identities, and sociocultural backgrounds.

The findings from this study reveal deeply embedded and …

The Development Of High Throughput Assays For Identification And Evaluation Of Small Molecule Modulators Of The Pri-Microrna-18a—Hnrnp A1 Interaction, Emile N. Van Meter

Dissertations

Therapeutics targeting RNA is a rapidly growing field. While only 1.5% of the human genome encodes genes for protein, over 70% o=f the human genome contains the genes for noncoding RNAs that regulate protein expression and function. Expanding the paradigm of small molecule drug discovery from traditional protein targets to include RNA would broaden the therapeutic landscape and provide new methods to modulate previously undruggable targets. miRNAs (miRs) have been found to be aberrantly expressed in many disease states, including neurodegenerative diseases and cancers making them promising therapeutic targets. The production of functional, mature miRs requires multiple proteins in a …

"It Can Be Hard To Stand Up Straight In A Crooked Room:" Examining The Mediating Effects Of Black Women's Gendered Racial Identity On The Relationship Between The Strong Black Woman/Superwoman Schema And Collective Coping, Devin Willis

Dissertations

Prior research on the Strong Black Woman (SBW)/Superwoman (SW) schema has produced mixed findings. Both positive and negative outcomes of Black women’s internalization of this schema have been identified. These mixed findings may be linked to the measurement of the SBW/SW schema and the relationship with other culturally relevant variables. There have been significant positive relationships identified between Black women’s gendered racial identity (GRID) and the internalization of gendered racial stereotypes (i.e., the SBW/SW). Methods for coping with stereotypes have also been identified as influential when considering Black women’s coping behaviors.

The purpose of this study is to examine the …

Teacher Motivation To Implement Evidence-Based Interventions With Fidelity: Development And Testing Of A New Psychometric Instrument, Jaden Miles Nyberg

Dissertations

The purpose of the present research study is to develop and test a novel psychometric instrument designed to measure teacher motivation to implement evidence-based interventions with fidelity, termed the TMI E-BI. The study addresses four research questions. First, does the TMI E-BI have acceptable inter-item consistency and construct validity? Second, with respect to the TMI E-BI, does the best factor model for explaining teachers’ motivation to implement EBIs with fidelity consist of expectancy, task value, cost, and orientation towards fidelity as related but meaningfully distinct constructs? Third, does the TMI E-BI predict teachers’ self-reported treatment fidelity? Lastly, how do teachers’ …

Meaning In Occupational Therapy Practice: A Mixed Methods Study Exploring Perceived Meaning And Burnout In Occupational Therapists, Rebecca Lauren Reinhardt

Dissertations

Decreasing burnout and increasing retention of occupational therapists (OTs) is a pressing issue in the field as attrition rates and intention to leave the profession are on the rise. One of the core tenets of occupational therapy (OT) practice is supporting recipients with engaging in meaningful occupations to promote wellbeing. While burnout in the profession has been more widely researched, very little research has explored how OTs perceive meaning in their own practice. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore the lived experiences of how OTs perceive meaning and meaning gaps in the profession, as well as …

The Effects Of Childhood Trauma And The Ongoing Coronavirus-19 Pandemic On College Student’S Mental Health, School Performance, And Smartphone Usage, Shane Odiorne

Dissertations

Several individuals who attend post-secondary education have experienced at least one instance of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE). Those who experience significant ACEs in their lives are at risk for a number of negative mental health outcomes, such as PTSD, depression, anxiety, or substance abuse problems, among others. Past studies have demonstrated that there is a potential mediating factor that leads to negative mental health stemming from ACEs. One of these mediating factors is psychological wellness, characterized by overall life satisfaction, resiliency, positive relationships, and self-acceptance. During times of uncertainty, the risk for exacerbating problems brought on by past trauma may …

Gender Identity Development In Social Virtual Reality: A Phenomenology, John Michael Sullivan Iii

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the ways in which trans and gender-diverse individuals engage with social virtual reality (VR), what kinds of experiences they have on social VR platforms, and how their experiences translate into gender identity exploration, expression, and development. Inquiry was driven by two primary research questions: (a) What are the experiences of trans and gender diverse individuals in social VR platforms and (b) How do trans and gender diverse individuals use social VR to develop and to express their gender identities? This study utilized a qualitative and phenomenological methodology that was guided by a …

Emerging Adulthood, Identity Conflict, And Self-Compassion’S Impact On Mental Health Interference Of Collegiate Student-Athletes, Courtney Amber Shields

Dissertations

Prior research identified a strong connection between experiences of being a collegiate student-athlete with mental health-related struggles; however, little research has been conducted into how the competing identities of student and athlete within a heavy identity developmental period (emerging adulthood) might be impacting mental-health interference. The purpose of this quantitative study was to understand how emerging adulthood, student identity, athletic identity, and the conflicting role of student-athlete identity had in mental health interference on training, competition, and willingness to see a sports psychologist within collegiate student-athletes as well as how self-compassion moderated these relationships. The following research questions guided this …

Supporting Cultural Capital In Undergraduate Biology: Instructor Roles And Practices, Lydia Nicole Mayo

Dissertations

Undergraduate biology students must navigate complex academic environments that require more than content mastery alone. Increasing evidence shows that students’ attitudes, beliefs, and values—such as motivation, confidence, and a sense of belonging—are critical to student engagement, persistence, and success, especially among first-generation college students and those from historically marginalized backgrounds. Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation is to use cultural capital theory to explore how instructor practices in college biology classrooms support these non-content resources, framed as three forms of cultural capital: aspirational, navigational, and emotional capital for college biology.

To investigate this phenomenon, the dissertation integrates three complementary studies. …

A Moderation Analysis Of The Relationships Between Burnout, Internalizing Symptoms, And Self-Care, Alexandra Mccorkle Ryan

Dissertations

Amidst growing awareness of burnout among school psychologists, self-care has been suggested as an essential practice for managing the emotionally and psychologically taxing elements of the job. Indeed, self-care has been included in the American Psychological Association’s list of professional competencies for health service psychologists (HSPs) in training. Mitigating burnout is an important objective, however, the current conceptualization of burnout as a problem that can be managed by an individual alone is inaccurate. Rather, burnout is a product of an occupational system in which job demands outweigh job resources. Furthermore, burnout can exacerbate symptoms of anxiety and depression. While self-care …

Academic Self-Efficacy In Nurse Anesthesia Residents, Nathan Seth Jones

Dissertations

Academic self-efficacy is a student’s belief in their ability to accomplish educational goals. The purpose of this study was to determine the predictors of academic self-efficacy in nurse anesthesia residents using the College Academic Self-Efficacy Scale (CASES). Three research questions guided the study:

Q1 What is the academic self-efficacy of current nurse anesthesia residents as measured by the College Academic Self-Efficacy Scale?

Q2 What are the factors that predict academic self-efficacy in nurse anesthesia residents?

Q3 What is the appropriate cut-off score on the College Academic Self-Efficacy Scale for identifying residents with low academic self-efficacy?

A total of 233 completed …

Undergraduate Faculty Experiences With Test Remediation, Shauna L. Haynes

Dissertations

Nursing students’ success in didactic courses generally depends on test scores. Students who fail to achieve a designated score might fail the test and/or the course. Test remediation is an intervention that could be implemented in response to a student’s failure. The intent of test remediation is to improve the student’s success on future exams and maximize the likelihood of progression. While remediation for success on the National Council Licensure Examination, standardized exams, and for the achievement of clinical skills were well documented, little research was found on test remediation for individual course exams. The purpose of this study was …