Digital Commons Network^™

Mind Maps And Machine Learning: An Automation Framework For Qualitative Research In Entrepreneurship Education, Yasser Farha

Dissertations

Entrepreneurship Education researchers often measure entrepreneurial motivation of college students. It is important for stakeholders, such as policymakers and educators, to assert if entrepreneurship education can encourage students to become entrepreneurs, as well as to understand factors that influence entrepreneurial motivation. For that purpose, researchers have used different methods and instruments to measure students' entrepreneurial motivation. Most of these methods are quantitative, e.g., closed-ended surveys, whereas qualitative methods, e.g., open-ended surveys, are rarely used.

Mind maps are an attractive qualitative survey tool because they capture the individual's reflections, thoughts, and experiences. For Entrepreneurship Education, mind maps can be utilized to …

Biomechanical Loading Changes Between Species In Mild Blast-Induced Traumatic Brain Injury, Jose Juan Rodriguez

Dissertations

Blast-induced traumatic brain injury (bTBI) has become one of the leading injury modalities in military personnel and is considered a signature injury in veterans returning from conflicts in the Middle East. One of the main concerns in studying bTBI is translating animal experiments to clinical applications that can service veterans. Significant advances have been made using animal models in relating external shock waves to emerging neuropathophysiological and behavioral outcomes. However, it is unknown if these results are applicable to humans; and if so, can an interspecies transfer function be developed based on size, shape, and material response. This work aims …

Towards Practical Homomorphic Encryption And Efficient Implementation, Gyana R. Sahu

Dissertations

Cloud computing has gained significant traction over the past few years and its application continues to soar as evident from its rapid adoption in various industries. One of the major challenges involved in cloud computing services is the security of sensitive information as cloud servers have been often found to be vulnerable to snooping by malicious adversaries. Such data privacy concerns can be addressed to a greater extent by enforcing cryptographic measures. Fully homomorphic encryption (FHE), a special form of public key encryption has emerged as a primary tool in deploying such cryptographic security assurances without sacrificing many of the …

Microglia Induced Neuroinflammation Through The Nlrp3 Inflammasome Following Blast Traumatic Brain Injury, Daniel Younger

Dissertations

The incidence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) among military personnel have been steadily increasing with modern conflicts. A recent RAND report estimated 320,000 service members, totaling 20% of deployed forces, suffer from TBI. However, of this population roughly 60% have not seen a medical professional specifically for TBI. Unlike the civilian population, the primary cause of TBI for active-duty military personnel is blast exposure. Blasts now account for over 70% of all US military casualties in operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation enduring freedom (OEF) and are the major cause of TBI. Among many pathological mechanisms associated with blast TBI, …

Flare Emission Observed In High Resolution And Comparison With Numerical Modeling, Nengyi Huang

Dissertations

As one of the most intense activities on the solar surface, flares have been extensively observed and studied ever since the first report. The standard model of solar flares has been established and commonly accepted. However, many limitations from the researching tools have left some of the problems unsolved or controversial. For example, the density of electrons in the corona is lower than it is required to activate the observed emission in HXR, and the mechanism that these electron beams can penetrate down to lower chromosphere is unclear. Many theoretical scenarios were suggested, and more observations had been in need. …

The Effect Of Principal Leadership On Student Achievement: A Multivariate Meta-Analysis, Huang Wu

Dissertations

Principal leadership has been widely considered as a significant factor for school improvement and student learning. However, there are discrepancies among previous findings and controversies on both the magnitude and nature of the relationship between principal leadership and student achievement. The purpose of this study is to further the understanding of whether and how principal leadership influences student achievement.

This study is a systematic review and multivariate meta-analysis of 42 empirical studies about principal leadership’s effects on student achievement, generated during the period between 2000 and 2020 in the United States. There were three parts for the analyses: (a) a …

Analyzing And Assisting Patient Decision-Making In Online Health Communities, Mingda Li

Dissertations

In recent years, many users have joined online health communities (OHC) to seek information, suggestions and social support. However, little has been studied about the roles of OHCs in patients' decision-making processes. The aim of this research is to analyze OHC data to better understand patient decision-making processes, and to provide assistance to OHC users in their decision-making.

In order to analyze or assist patients in their decision-making, a novel classification model is designed to identify discussion threads in OHC that are related to decision making. This is achieved by building a two-step combined deep learning model. Empirical evaluation shows …

The Construction Of Student Mathematical Identity And Its Relationship To Academic Achievement, Ann Trescott

Dissertations

The California university and state college systems (UC and CSU) are committed to accepting a diverse student body. Although there has been some growth in the percentage of minority students admitted each year, a low number of minority and socioeconomically disadvantaged students meet minimum entrance requirements. For example, in 2018, only 33% of socioeconomically disadvantaged African American students and 39% Hispanic/Latinx students who graduated from California public high schools met minimum UC/CSU requirements (CDE, 2019).

Explanations for ineligibility include the fact that many high school students have not completed the requisite mathematics classes due in part to the inequitable practice …

Institutional Logics And The Double Bottom Line: A Study Of Chikum Microfinance Bank Limited, Daniel Anyanwu

Dissertations

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) serve a social mission, while also having to focus on financial sustainability. Microfinance emerged as an alternative to traditional aid to the poor and aims to help alleviate poverty through providing them with financial services. MFIs can be self-sustainable and even profitable through income generating activities. This twin goal of commercial viability and social mission has generated much scholarly interest in the competition between two seemingly incompatible logics of action. Assumptions about the incompatibility of profit and mission motives have dominated the literature and led to a neglect of how some MFIs may be successful in integrating …

The Glass Ceiling: Exploring The Leadership Journey Of Men And Women In High-Tech, Shelia Faye Krueger

Dissertations

The literature is replete with evidence of the proliferation of women entering into the workplace, their remarkable progress in attaining higher education, their overrepresentation in professional and management roles, and their placement in CEO leadership positions in certain high-profile S&P 500 global companies. Yet women continue to be noticeably underrepresented in leadership roles, especially in high tech companies. Through the lenses of social constructivist and feminist theories of gender stereotypes, social/gender roles, and role congruity expectations, this instrumental case study was conducted to gain insight into the reasons women are underrepresented in leadership roles in high tech and the ways …

Membrane-Based Removal Of Ammonia From A Waste Stream And Its Recovery, Philip A. Aligwe

Dissertations

At neutral pH levels, ammonia in aqueous streams exists in two forms: ammonium ion (NH₄⁺) and dissolved ammonia gas molecules (NH₃). Membrane separation serves as a viable option for treatment of ammonia containing effluents. This can be achieved via by stripping NH₃ from an ammonia feed solution at feed solution pH > 11 via hollow fiber supported gas membrane (SGM) or removing NH₄⁺ from an ammonia feed solution at feed solution pH < 7 via liquid or polymeric membranes.

The first study reported here examines the influence of feed volumetric flow rates on outlet NH₃ concentrations in parallel flow …

Exploration Of Novel Ferroelectric Systems: Determination Of The Underlying Mechanisms, Sizhan Liu

Dissertations

Modern environmental and sustainability issues, as well as the growing demand for applications in sensing and data storage, require the discovery and development of new functional materials. Ferroelectrics and multiferroics are materials that have played a central role in this arena. Because the central function of ferroelectrics is governed by spontaneous polarization response, understanding both the electronic and atomic response to external stimuli is important. In this work, a broad set of model systems were explored to determine the fundamental mechanisms involved in the formation of the ferroelectric phase.

Understanding atomic-level changes in structure is important for improving the properties …

Toward A Network Controlled Delivery Of Energy, Zhengqi Jiang

Dissertations

The next-generation power grid aims to integrate the recent technological advancements in the information and communications technology into energy distribution and management. Prior research works propose the concept of the digital grid (DG) as means to fulfill the requirements of the next-generation power grid. While there are several approaches to the DG, they all share the use of internet protocol (IP) addresses to identify lines and grid devices but lack of a full integration of core concepts of digital communications into the management on the delivery of energy.

This dissertation discusses the incorporation of the concept of controllable delivery of …

Graphene Based Barrier Membrane For Gas Separation Processes, Cheng Peng

Dissertations

Novel graphene oxide (GO) flake-based composite lamellar membrane structure is being developed as a potential component of a garment for protection against chemical warfare agents (CWAs) represented here by simulants, dimethyl methyl phosphonate (DMMP) (a sarin-simulant) and 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide (2-CEES) (a simulant for sulfur mustard), yet allowing a high moisture transmission rate. GO flakes of dimensions 300-800 nm, 0.7-1.2 nm thickness and dispersed in an aqueous suspension are formed into a membrane by vacuum filtration on a porous polyethersulfone (PES) or poly (ether-ether-ketone) (PEEK) support membrane for noncovalent π-π interactions with GO flakes. After physical compression of such a …

Accurate Patient Health Condition Identification And Risk Prediction From Health Data, Jinhe Shi

Dissertations

Online Health communities (OHCs), Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and Claims data contain rich patient information. Accurate identification of patient's health conditions is critical for providing effective and safe health care service and for trustable knowledge discovery. This dissertation proposes several deep-learning based techniques on identifying patient health conditions and predicting adverse drug event (ADE) risks using various health data.

First, this dissertation presents a novel patient experience mining model to differentiate the data expressing user experiences from the one describing hearsays. Indeed, OHCs contain information with varying degrees of quality. Identifying information that describes patient health experience from OHCs is …

Moisture Permeable Barrier Membranes For Toxic Gases And Vapors, Yufeng Song

Dissertations

Defense against small molecule toxic gases is an important aspect of protection against chemical and biological threat as well as chemical releases from industrial accidents. Current protective respirators/garments cannot effectively block small molecule toxic gases and vapors and retain moisture transmission capability without a heavy burden.

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) have been used as highly effective adsorbents and catalysts to remove ammonia, cyanogen chloride, and sulfur dioxide from air. A nanopacked bed of nanoparticles of MOF by synthesizing them in the pores of microporous membranes is developed in the study. The submicron scale size of membrane pores ensures a large …

Systems For Free Parking Assignment, Abeer M. Hakeem

Dissertations

Finding a free, curbside parking spaces in metropolitan areas, especially during rush hours, is difficult for drivers. The difficulty arises from not knowing where the available spaces may be at that time; and, even if the spaces are known, many vehicles may pursue the same spaces, causing serious parking contention and traffic congestion. This dissertation presents three cost-effective and easily deployable free parking assignment systems that optimize the travel time of the drivers.

The first contribution is the Free Parking System (FPS), a centralized solution that solves the curbside parking problem. Unlike existing solutions, FPS is cost-effective, as it does …

Error Correction For Asynchronous Communication And Probabilistic Burst Deletion Channels, Chen Yi

Dissertations

Short-range wireless communication with low-power small-size sensors has been broadly applied in many areas such as in environmental observation, and biomedical and health care monitoring. However, such applications require a wireless sensor operating in "always-on" mode, which increases the power consumption of sensors significantly. Asynchronous communication is an emerging low-power approach for these applications because it provides a larger potential of significant power savings for recording sparse continuous-time signals, a smaller hardware footprint, and a lower circuit complexity compared to Nyquist-based synchronous signal processing.

In this dissertation, the classical Nyquist-based synchronous signal sampling is replaced by asynchronous sampling strategies, i.e., …

Modeling Strategies For Structures Using Ductile Concrete Materials In Seismic Applications, Hasan Tariq

Dissertations

High-Performance Fiber-Reinforced Cementitious Composites (HPFRCCs) have made striking advances over the last two decades as an alternative material to replace ordinary concrete in regions of high seismic intensities. In contrast to ordinary concrete which has a brittle tensile response, HPFRCCs exhibit tensile strain hardening and multiple crack propagation. The application of HPFRCC in various structural components demonstrate effectiveness by improving damage resistance, deformation capacity, and energy absorption capacity. Despite these benefits, the failure mode of reinforced HPFRCC components is dominated by reinforcement fracture unlike traditional reinforced concrete components which fail in flexure by crushing. The unique behavior of HPFRCC members …

A Cost Analysis Of Two Academic-Based Nursing Centers, Deborah Vincent

Dissertations

A nursing center is an ambulatory care clinic in which nurses provide health care to clients and manage the operational and financial functions of the center. During the 1980s, academic based nursing centers proliferated largely due to the need for clinical teaching sites for undergraduate and graduate nursing students and the availability of funding for demonstration projects for undeserved populations. However, financial instability has led to the closure of many nursing centers and placed others at risk for closure. Employing gross costing, activities based costing techniques, and time studies, this study analyzed the operating costs of a financially troubled academic-based …

A Pilot Study To Evaluate The Effectiveness Of The National Diabetes Prevention Program In An Urban Medically Underserved Community, Stefanie Annette Schroeter

Dissertations

This study evaluated the effectiveness of participation in the National Diabetes Prevention Program (NDPP) for weight reduction in a sample of prediabetic individuals in an urban medically underserved community. The NDPP was developed from research demonstrating a reduced risk for diabetes in prediabetic individuals who participated in an intensive lifestyle intervention program aimed at reducing weight and improving lifestyle habits. The NDPP was integrated into existing services within a medically underserved urban community health center to provide this evidence-based program targeted to high-risk prediabetic patients.

An Ethnography Study Of Hiv Positive Midlife Black Women, Charlotte Stoudmire

Dissertations

Black women, ages 45 and older, are disproportionately affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In 2001, Black women comprised 11% of all older women in the United States; however, they accounted for more than 50% of AIDS cases and more than 65% of HIV cases (Winningham et al., 2004). The literature review reflected little research specifically looking at the reason(s) for the increase in HIV in Black women, ages 45 to 60. Furthermore, few research studies focused on HIV patient health beliefs and their experiences in living with HIV. This study was conducted with an ethnography research method coupled with the …

Examining The Role Of Social Context In Nurses' Pain Assessment Practice With Postoperative Clients, Laurie M. Lauzon Clabo

Dissertations

Pain is a significant symptom in the postoperative period. Inadequately managed pain has been associated with additional postoperative complications and prolonged hospitalization, yet empirical data demonstrate that nurses frequently use inaccurate assessment criteria, and clients report inadequate pain management. Interventions designed to change nurses' assessment of pain have not addressed the impact of the setting in which practice occurs. This study was designed to describe the impact of the sociocultural context of the practice setting on nurses' assessment of postoperative patients' pain. The study was guided by Bourdieu's theory of practice which proposes that each instance of human practice is …

Parental Influences On Late Adolescents' Autonomous Motivation And Sexual Risk Knowledge And Behavior, Bettina Hornbuckle Riley

Dissertations

Adolescent risky sexual behavior is associated with unprotected sex, unplanned pregnancy, abortion, and contraction of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) such as chlamydia, syphilis, gonorrhea, and HIV/AIDS. During their time of transition to adulthood, late adolescents make decisions about their sexual health that may or may not be motivated by parental (mother and father) sexual risk communication and autonomy support. While the adolescent may be physically independent or semi-independent from his/her parents, parents continue to influence their adolescents through past and present endorsement of certain behaviors. This research examined how parent-sexual risk communication and parental autonomy support may individually and collectively …

Relationship Between Nurses' Management Of Pediatric Oncology Patients' Symptoms And Job Satisfaction, Jennifer Isabelle Rheingans

Dissertations

A primary function of the pediatric oncology nurse is to provide symptom management to children with cancer. Symptom management strategies have been published, but there is scarce literature examining neither the actual use of these nursing interventions, nor the effects of using these interventions on the nurses' perceived work environment. The purpose of this study was to examine the nursing interventions used in treating pediatric oncology patients' symptoms, as well as the emotional sequelae from providing this care. Phase One of this study examined the content validity of the newly developed Nurses Distress and Interventions for Symptoms Survey (NDISS) utilizing …

The Geriatric Cancer Experience In End Of Life: Model Adaptation And Testing, Harleah Graham Buck

Dissertations

The National Institutes of Health recommends the development of conceptual models to increase rigor and improve evaluation in research. Validated models are essential to guide conceptualizations of phenomena, selection of variables and development of testable hypotheses. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is a methodology useful in model testing due to its ability to account for measurement error and test latent variables. The purpose of this study was to test a model of The Geriatric Cancer Experience in End of Life as adapted from Emanuel and Emanuel's framework for a good death using SEM.

Ethical Values And Resolution Of Ethical Value Conflicts By Nurse Educators, Carolyn Z. Lyndaker

Dissertations

The purpose of this descriptive, qualitative study was to identify ethical values and ethical value conflicts encountered by nurse educators and to explore the resolution process of ethical value conflicts by nurse educators.

A Case Study Of The Professionalization Of Mexican Nursing: 1980 To 2005, Allison Patricia Squires

Dissertations

This exploratory case study examined the professionalization of nursing in Mexico between 1980 and 2005 with the aim of improving understanding about Mexican nursing human resources. The twenty-five year period was selected because it represented a period of significant economic and political change in Mexico that would have impacted Mexican nurses both personally and professionally.

The Relationships Among Social Support, Spiritual Well-Being, Commitment And Health-Promoting Behaviors In Older Adults, Clara S. Boland

Dissertations

Study purpose was to examine relationships among personal factors, social support, spiritual well-being, commitment and health-promoting behaviors in three elderly age groups. Pender's revised Health Promotion Model (HPM) guided development of a theoretical model for this correlational study. Criteria for inclusion were (a) self-caring, (b) community dwellers, (c) English speaking, (d) adults aged 65 and older who were (e) without known cognitive impairment.

Nurses' Attitudes Toward Assisting Patients/Families With End-Of-Life Decision-Making, Susan M. Wise

Dissertations

Nurses often feel unable to help with decision-making near the end of life. The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument to measure medical-surgical nurses' attitudes toward assisting patients and families with end-of-life decision-making and to evaluate its psychometric properties. The Nurses' Attitudes Toward End-of-Life Decision-Making (NATED), a 37-item instrument with a Likert-scale format was developed based on analysis of interviews with medical-surgical nurses and their experiences with patients and families making end-of-life decisions. The interviews were analyzed and common themes with corresponding instrument items identified.