Digital Commons Network^™

A Descriptive Phenomenological Study Of Body Art Patients And Their Health Care Experience, Lacee Kaufmann

Dissertations

This study aimed to update dated research by exploring the relationships between patients with body art (tattoos and body piercings) and their interaction with health care providers. This creates a current description of the body art patient’s health care experience. Previous research indicates that body art has been associated with risk taking and deviant behaviors and these behaviors have been used to justify why people with body art are negatively perceived. If the presence of body art and the associated behavior are viewed as a threat to normalcy, then Stangor and Crandall’s theory (2000) suggests that stigma may surround the …

Sedative And Neurotoxic Properties Of Brexanolone Compared To Midazolam In The Developing Rodent Brain, Jacob Huffman

Dissertations

The developing brain is susceptible to extensive neurotoxicity following exposure to sedative/anesthetic drugs (SADs). Every year hundreds of thousands of children around the world are exposed to SADs with no viable non-neurotoxic agents approved for clinical use. Allopregnanolone (AlloP) has well-established sedative effects in adults and neonates. AlloP and many SADs produce sedation/anesthesia through allosteric modulation of GABA_A receptors, which is one of two principal mechanisms behind SAD-induced neurotoxicity. Evidence suggests AlloP has the unique capacity to regulate key apoptotic factors in adults and is widely involved with critical stages of neurodevelopment, indicating this neurosteroid might serve as a …

Increasing Patient Adherence To Gestational Weight Gain Goals In Pregnancy, Annie Vining

Dissertations

Abstract

Problem: The inability to maintain healthy weight gain during pregnancy may contribute to multiple pregnancy-related complications. Nutritional education and support may improve nutrition and vitamin consumption, and recommendations for healthy gestational weight gains have been published. However, pregnant women have reported minimal advice regarding healthy weight gain during pregnancy. A personalized, nutritional counseling program was initiated in a Midwestern, suburban OB-GYN private practice.

Methods: A quality improvement descriptive, correlational design was used. A cohort of pregnant women first trimester through six-weeks postpartum received individual counseling and face-to-face interaction at an office visit each trimester.

Results: Twenty ( …

Emotional Intelligence Methods Utilized By Successful Major League Baseball Closers To Perform Successfully In High Pressure Situations, Joshua Rosenthal

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative case study is to understand the similarities that exist in the descriptions of emotional intelligence methods utilized by retired successful Major League Baseball closers to appraise, express, regulate, and utilize their emotions to perform successfully in high pressure situations.

Methodology: The dissertation was a qualitative case study. Twelve of the top 50 retired save leaders in Major League Baseball were interviewed to understand the similarities in the descriptions of emotional intelligence methods used to perform successfully in high pressure situations. This study attempted to understand what exactly elite closers did to utilize emotional intelligence …

Impact Of Meaningful Recognition On Work Environment Perception Of Critical Care Nurses, Kristin Meinershagen

Dissertations

Problem: Absence of nursing staff recognition can lead to compassion fatigue, burnout, job dissatisfaction, and increased turnover rate resulting in high costs for hospitals. Meaningful recognition has been found to decrease compassion fatigue and reduce burnout. A meaningful recognition program was implemented over a 3-month period for staff nurses in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at a large midwestern, metropolitan hospital to determine its effect on nurse’s perception of work environment and turnover rate in the ICU.

Methods: This was an observational, descriptive, cohort design utilizing the AACN Healthy Work EnvironmentSurvey instrument for assessing results before and after implementation …

Academic Field Influence On Acquisition Of Global Awareness In Undergraduate Study Abroad Students, Tim Schmalz

Dissertations

Very little comprehensive research has been done thus far examining the effects of academic discipline on study abroad outcomes. This study investigated potential differences between global awareness scores across different academic disciplines for students that participated in study abroad during their undergraduate academic programs. Five hundred and eight-five current and past university students took a short survey modified from a Chieffo & Griffiths 2004 study. Overall global awareness scores, as well as scores for four sub-characteristics: intercultural awareness, personal growth & development, awareness of global interdependence, and functional knowledge of world geography & languages – were compared across student majors …

The Impact Of Nurse To Nurse Mentoring In Leadership Skills Development - Rnmentor2mentor, Linda Macera-Diclemente, Connie M. Smith

Dissertations

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health (IOM, 2010), recommended an increase nursing presence in board service to address healthcare issues and influence change within the healthcare system. Thus, the purpose of the project was to create, design, implement, and evaluate a nurse-to-nurse mentoring program (RNmentor2mentor) for nurses in the state of Michigan aimed at increasing the number of nurses serving on boards.

A Multilevel Examination Of Unethical Pro-Organizational Behavior Decision-Making: The Role Of Citizenship Pressure, Moral Disengagement, And Moral Intensity, William Bryant

Dissertations

Unethical pro-organizational behaviors (UPB) are unethical behaviors that are intended to benefit the organization or its members. Research on this type of behavior typically involves assessing attitudinal and dispositional predictors of UPB but has largely failed to understand the process through which UPB occurs. One potential elicitation process could be through a perceived obligation that an employee has to help their organization, or citizenship pressure. By adapting Rest’s four stage model of ethical decision-making and social exchange theory, the current study aimed to identify how organizational identification might increase perceptions of citizenship pressure, and how citizenship pressure might influence elements …

Variables Affecting Student Veterans’ And Student Service Members’ Success In Higher Education, Warren Ray Spadoni

Dissertations

The researcher recognized four independent variables identified as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, mild traumatic brain injury, and traumatic brain injury which influenced the educational attainment of student veterans and student service members in post-secondary education. There were six dependent variables identified as integration, transitioning, social learning, social cognition, quality of life, and perceived self-efficacy which were recognized by the researcher as having influenced the educational attainment of student veterans and student service members in post-secondary education. The researcher posited higher education institutions did not fully understand or acknowledge the combat or service-related independent variables organic to student service members or …

Developing A Predictive Model For Prostate Cancer Screening Intent, Quentin E. Moore

Dissertations

African Americans bear a disproportionately high burden of cancer incidence and mortality in this country. The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate factors associated with African-American men, who are incarcerated, making informed health decisions about participation in prostate cancer screening, as well as exploring factors that reduce modifiable risk factors for cancer. The United States incarcerates more people per capita than any country in the world and African American men are overrepresented in the U.S. prison system. This dissertation is composed of three manuscripts. The first paper reviews the current literature about the factors that influence African-American males in …

Leadership Approaches Federal Government Civilian Employees Perceive Most Effective For Enhancing Employee Morale And Productivity, Darryl E. Powe Sr

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this descriptive qualitative study was to identify and describe the leadership approaches (transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire) federal government employees perceive as most and least effective to enhance employee morale and productivity.

Methodology: Fifteen U.S. Army civilian employees from 5 paygrades were selected based on specific criteria and organized using the stratified random sampling method. The full-range leadership model provided the theoretical framework for the study and was used to design interview questions that focused on the aforementioned leadership approaches. Data were collected and coded from interviews and artifacts, and aided the identification of key themes and …

Curb-Sided: How Technology Disrupts The American Transportation Planning Process, Mary Angelica Painter

Dissertations

The disruptive arrival of Uber, Lyft, and other transportation network companies (TNCs) into American cities ignited arguments on how policy-makers should regulate such entities. Policy debates started among policymakers, companies, and existing industries and interests. In attempts to persuade policy, actors adopted a variety of language and used different levels of government to achieve policy goals. In almost all cases, TNCs were able to gain favorable policy through image framing and venue shopping – the key components to Punctuated Equilibrium Theory (PET). This analysis looks at the policy process of three American cities: Chicago, IL, St. Louis, MO, and Austin, …

The Experience Of Faculty Transitioning From Traditional To Non-Traditional Methods In The Community College Classroom, Christina Calentine

Dissertations

There is documented success with the use of active learning strategies in community college classrooms, yet instructors lack the necessary skills and incentives to develop these strategies. While faculty members may have an expertise in a particular discipline they often lack the necessary skills to recognize the specific academic needs of a student and respond and/or adapt to those needs. Many specialized degrees do not include pedagogical training as part of the required curriculum but community colleges are typified by diversity in student backgrounds and learning styles. This has led to increased attention to the implementation of a diverse array …

Teaching Perspectives Of Faculty Members At Arab Universities: Andragogy And Islamic Humanism, Layla Goushey

Dissertations

Cultural differences exist between Western perspectives on humanistic teaching methods and methods developed during the past 100 years in the Arab region based on English and French colonialist systems. Political structures and economic challenges in the region uphold the rigid societal and security structures that limit faculty governance and academic freedom, which impacts teaching and learning perspectives. This study utilized basic qualitative design methods based in constructivist grounded theory. Questionnaires, surveys, and email interviews that invited open-ended, explanatory, and descriptive answers were central to this work. Taking an observer’s approach to this study, I analyzed survey responses of Arab university …

Student Perceptions Regarding The Use Of Purposive English In A Spanish As A Foreign Language Classroom, Kacey Booth

Dissertations

In modern American society, diversity is both challenged and celebrated, and inclusion is imperative. This ideology begins in the classroom. Oftentimes, this celebration of diversity, more specifically linguistic diversity, is most visible in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) classes and similar bilingual educational programs. In TESOL programs, students’ international identities are highlighted and students are often instructed using multilingual educational resources to scaffold their acquisition of English. Historically, foreign language teaching also utilized dual-language instructional methodologies. Such archaic teaching methodologies have since been replaced by more modern and immersive sociopsycholinguistic approaches such as Communicative Language Teaching. Such …

Self-Management And Self-Management Support On Functional Ablement In Chronic Low Back Pain, Jennifer Kawi

Dissertations

The pervasiveness of chronic low back pain and its subsequent disability are alarming in today's healthcare. Although literature is beginning to explicate the impact of self-management (SM) and self-management support (SMS) in other chronic illnesses, there remains limited understanding on whether SM and SMS influence functional ablement in chronic low back pain patients. This study examined whether SM and SMS significantly influenced functional ablement after controlling for mental state and demographic characteristics, examined whether SM mediated the SMS-functional ablement relationship, and described patient perceptions of their SM, SMS, and functional ablement. The adapted Chronic Care Model guided this study. A …

Congruency Between Parents' Actual And Desired Participation In The Care Of Their Hospitalized Child, Daria Katherine Romaniuk

Dissertations

Parents' participation in the care of their hospitalized child is an integral part of pediatric nursing practice and is considered to be beneficial for children and parents. However, parents may not discuss their participation with nurses and instead base their activities on their perceptions of nurses' assumptions and expectations regarding parents' participation in care. Nurses may assume a gate keeping role regarding parents' participation, deciding what parents will do and then monitoring these activities. Nurses' heavy workloads may preclude the teaching necessary for parents to participate in certain aspects of care. As a result, parents' actual participation in care may …

A Focused Ethnography: Nursing Students' Perceptions Of Cultural Competence And Social Justice, Wanda Elizabeth Thuma-Mcdermond

Dissertations

Disparities in health care suggest a need for greater social justice in national and international health care systems. Nurses are uniquely involved with disparities since the nursing profession has emphasized social justice not only as a moral value but also as the foundation for social action. Social justice, however, may be difficult to conceptualize, especially for nursing students. Since cultural competence has been identified as an important aspect for decreasing disparities, it may be a vehicle or tool students could use for the social action necessary for social justice. A focused ethnographic design was selected for this study because of …

Nurses' Information Processing Related To Surveillance As An Intervention In The Care Of Stroke Patients, Lori Rhudy

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the nursing intervention of surveillance from an information processing framework. Research questions addressed how surveillance was expressed by nurses during the care of stroke patients and the relationship of cues identified to the focus of care.

Exploring Incivility Among Nursing And Health Science Students: A Descriptive Study, Diane Louise Smith

Dissertations

Incivility has infiltrated our institutions of higher learning as well as the world of nursing. All too familiar in nursing is the phrase ";eating their young,"; which aptly describes how nurses treat other nurses, even though they should be nurturing and caring professionals. The investigator explored nursing and health science students' perceptions of student and faculty uncivil behaviors within the academic environment, seeking the levels and frequency of the problem. Bandura's social learning theory presents a sound theoretical framework for this dissertation. The research methodology consisted of a quantitative descriptive approach. The Incivility in Higher Education-Revised (IHE-R) Survey was used …

Contentment In "Songs Of The Gorilla Nation: My Journey Through Autism": A Humanbecoming Hermeneutic Study, Susan Agnes Bonis

Dissertations

Contentment is a universally lived experience that is inexplicably intertwined with health and quality of life. The aims of this humanbecoming hermeneutic study were to identify the essence of the experience of contentment, to contribute to knowledge about humanbecoming, and to contribute to the knowledge base of nursing. The source of data collection was the text of Songs of the Gorilla Nation: My Journey through Autism. Through a hermeneutic process of discoursing with penetrating engagement, interpreting with quiescent beholding, and understanding with inspiring envisaging the structure of the lived experience of contentment was illuminated in the text. The finding is …

Awareness Of Increased Risk For Heart Disease And Cardiovascular Risk Factors In Women With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Patricia Catherine Weinstein

Dissertations

Women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) develop cardiovascular disease (CVD) earlier and at a more accelerated rate compared to women without SLE. Many women with SLE are unaware of their increased risk despite years spent in the health care system, thus giving the atherogenic process time to accrue damage. Research has not explained fully why women with SLE are unaware of their increased risk for CVD or why awareness does not correspond to risk reducing behaviors. Stage theories of behavior like the Precaution Adoption Process Model (PAPM) propose that health behavior change proceeds through qualitatively different stages, and people at …

Southern, Rural African American Women's Hypertension Perceptions, Cassandra D. Ford

Dissertations

Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of adult deaths in the United States, and hypertension is a major contributing factor to the development of cardiovascular disease. Epidemiologic research reveals that cardiovascular disease and hypertension are prevalent in southern, rural areas. Vital statistics clearly document the disproportionately high prevalence of hypertension in African American women in the rural south. Therefore, in attempt to learn more about this phenomenon, the present study sought to ascertain and describe the perceptions of hypertensive, southern, rural African American women on their personal and environmental factors affecting their hypertension and how it is controlled and treated. …

An Educational Intervention To Develop Characteristics Of Transformational Leadership In Novice Nurse Managers, Mary Catherine Goetter

Dissertations

To support the development of characteristics of transformational leadership (TFL) in novice nurse managers/administrators (NNM) through use of a Journal Club as an educational intervention based on theories of educational psychology and nursing's unique patterns of knowing.

Does an educational intervention of a Journal Club increase NNM perceived knowledge of characteristics of transformational leadership? Does an educational intervention of a Journal Club increase NNM perceived ability of self to lead? How do NNM describe the effect of the intervention on their leadership knowledge and ability?

Can Ratings Of Item Location Enhance Statistical Item Parameter Estimation? Extending The Feasibility Of Unfolding Irt Models, Michael Mckenna

Dissertations

Research and development of modern psychometric methods such as item response theory have drastically changed the way we understand and carry out the measurement of psychological constructs. Despite this, there has been relatively little adoption by psychological researchers to incorporate these methods into their research. While multiple explanations are surely valid, one oft stated reason is the large sample size requirements of these methods. The sample size requirements of item response theory are needed so that effective estimation of item parameters can be carried out. In an attempt to make these modern measurement methods more accessible and feasible to psychological …

An Evaluation Of The Molecular Species Of Ca125 Across The Three Phases Of The Menstrual Cycle, Monica Rose Mclemore

Dissertations

CA125, a tumor-associated antigen, is primarily used to monitor epithelial ovarian cancer. However, CA125 alone lacks the sensitivity and specificity necessary for population-based screening in healthy women. Barriers to the development of a screening assay includes the low incidence of the disease, large inter-individual variability in CA125 levels, fluctuations in levels during the phases of the menstrual cycle (i.e., menses, follicular, luteal), ethnicity, menopausal status, and other benign conditions. Evaluation of the molecular species of serum CA125 is a vital step in understanding the underlying biology of CA125. The specific aims of this study, in a sample of healthy women …

Quality Of Life Of Parental Caregivers Of Children (1-36 Months) With A Tracheostomy, Rachel Abraham Joseph

Dissertations

Children's health and well-being are invariably related to the health and well-being of their parents or caregivers. Many parents undertake home care of children with a tracheostomy who require highly complex and technology driven care that would have been formerly assumed by health care providers. Parents accept multiple responsibilities- that of an advocate, case manager, parent, nurse, and much more. A cross sectional descriptive study using survey method was conducted to gather data on stress, coping and quality of life in parents of children with a tracheostomy aged one month to 36 months.

System Usage: A Shared Mental Model Perspective, Rooji Sugathan

Dissertations

The failure rate of Information Systems (IS) projects is high and has been high for many years. Failed IS projects leave organizations with systems that have very low usage and a negative rate of return on their investment. System use is a key measure of IS success. User participation and involvement (UPI) during application development and configuration are key factors that influence system use. However, empirical studies have shown mixed results for the influence of UPI on system use.

This study explores the extent to which shared mental model (SMM) of a project team influences the impact of UPI on …

Contributions Of Patient Characteristics And Organizational Factors To Patient Outcomes Of Diabetes Care In Hualien, Taiwan, Shu-Chuan Chang

Dissertations

This cross-sectional study measured quality of diabetes care and explored the contributions of patient and organizational factors to patient outcomes of diabetes care in Hualien, Taiwan. Donabedian's structure-process-outcome framework was applied to examine the system of health care in Hualien County with respect to the quality and outcomes related to patients with diabetes.

The Orientation Phase Of The Nurse-Client Relationship: Testing Peplau's Theory, Cheryl Forchuk

Dissertations

This investigation used a prospective design to examine the orientation phase of the nurse-client relationship. One hundred and twenty-four newly formed nurse-client dyads constituted the sample; Client subjects were individuals with a chronic mental illness. The following variables predicted by Peplau's theory to be related to development of the therapeutic nurse-client relationship were examined: nurses' preconceptions of their clients, clients' preconceptions of their nurses, other interpersonal relationships of clients and nurses, and anxiety of clients and nurses. Variables were measured for both nurses and clients at 0, 3 and 6 months into their relationship. Preconceptions of both clients and nurses …