Digital Commons Network^™

Waiting Time And Patients’ Satisfaction, Haleema Mohamed Hasan Mahmood Al Hammadi

Dissertations

In line with Vision 2021, the UAE’s National Agenda has six pillars: providing world-class healthcare is one of them. It is hence not surprising that the UAE healthcare industry is allocating substantial weight to the element of quality. Patient-centered care is internationally becoming part of the quality domain. Patient-centered quality may be defined as “providing the care that the patient needs in the manner the patient desires at the time the patient desires”. This requires substantially more attention to learning about patients’ preferences. One of the main dimensions of patient-centered quality is timely access to care, which includes shorter waiting …

An Exploration Of How Early Years Managers And Staff Are Responding To The Needs Of Children Experiencing Homelessness, Jacinta Corcoran

Dissertations

Homelessness in Ireland has increased rapidly over recent years with children and families making up increasing proportions of the numbers recorded whilst single parent families are representing a disproportionate number of families experiencing homelessness. Consequently many early years services are supporting unprecedented numbers of children who are experiencing homelessness to engage and fully participate in early education programmes. The experience of homelessness can permeate many levels and various aspects of a child’s life particularly when historical risks and adversities are to be factored. Within this context this study guided by an ecological framework explores the range of influences on the …

Veteran Transition From Combat To Campus: A Mixed-Methods Study, Joanna R. Jones

Dissertations

The current research was carried out to investigate the overall satisfaction and benefits concerning student veteran programs at a public university located in southcentral Kentucky and the possible correlation of effectiveness within the supportive transitioning assistance programs for student veterans. The study included survey(s) distributions to administrators of veteran programs and student veterans.

The descriptive investigative study involved both aspects of quantitative and qualitative design, hence categorizing the study as mixed-methods. Descriptive research design is considered a scientific method which involves observing and/or describing behavior regarding the subject without influencing it in any way. Surveys were used during this study …

An Investgation Of Multimodal Mobile Literacy Effect On Promoting 10th Graders’ Efl Writing, Motivation And Intercultural Competence, Amin Mefreh Amin Elkhayyat

Dissertations

This study aimed at investigating Multimodal Mobile Literacy (MML) effect on promoting EFL writing performance, writing motivation, and intercultural competence. The Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, Redefinition Model (SAMR), as one of the 21st-century frameworks for evaluating mobile learning was adopted to select the MML device of the study. The study employed a quasi-experimental design. A convenient sample of 10th-grade students from public schools in three cities in the UAE was selected. The sample comprised of two groups: A treatment Group (n= 176) and a Control Group (n=179). The experimental group made use of the Mobile Learning platform to learn English writing …

A Program Evaluation Of The Parent Academy For One School District, Kathleen Gordon

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This program evaluation project addresses issues relating to low-parent attendance at one district’s parent academy. The process I used to gather information from the parents, administrators, board members, and business partners included individual surveys and interviews. The results indicated the biggest problems for mediocre parent engagement centered on transportation and the lack of parent involvement in the planning process. Improving the strategic planning process of the parent academy was the dominant need I identified based on my Change Leadership Plan. Included is a policy amendment regarding parent involvement in matters related to student achievement.

An Evaluation Of The In-School Suspension Program At One High School, Monique Griffin-Gay

Dissertations

In this program evaluation, I examined the effectiveness of in school suspension (ISS) program at one high school. The literature reviewed argues although ISS is a necessity in the current climate of education, ineffective ISS programs can interrupt academic progress. Often used in isolation and as a holding area for code of conduct violations, ISS can yield results such as increased recidivism, increased hostility and decreased academic progress. The methods used within this study included surveys and interviews from key stakeholders. The results revealed some things were working well, and some things were not. In conclusion, Eminence High should incorporate …

Attendance Matters! A Policy Advocacy Document, Robert G. Hubbird

Dissertations

This three-part dissertation concentrates on student attendance. It is clear that we have a student attendance problem in our nation, particularly in urban school districts. There have been other studies, discussions, and debates on how to improve student attendance, but identifying a single policy, program, incentive, and/or intervention to positively impact absenteeism is difficult. Student absenteeism has and will continue to be a national problem. Many factors play a role in student attendance, to a certain degree, some are controllable and others are extremely difficult to affect.

This Part III of the dissertation is a Policy Advocacy for absenteeism at …

A Program Evaluation Of Professional Learning Communities To Support Professional Development And Student Learning, Tiffany Scott

Dissertations

For this program evaluation, I examined the effectiveness of Professional Learning Communities (PLC) with regard to how it supported professional development for teachers and student learning at Sunshine Elementary School (pseudonym). The literature reviewed argues that PLCs are viable venues to develop teacher competencies as well as improve student-learning outcomes when implemented with fidelity. The methods in this study included surveys and interviews from teachers, coaches and administrators. There was also a review of the student achievement data to examine results against the perceptions of the study participants. The results indicated areas that were working well, and areas that were …

An Evaluation Of A Title One Elementary School's English For Speakers Of Other Languages Program, Kim L.P. Rigby

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Enrolled at many public schools in the United States are students who primarily speak languages other than English and lack proficiency in the English language. These students are required to show language proficiency on end-of-year English-only state assessments. One public elementary school utilizes a support program to assist second language learners in acquiring a level of language skills necessary for proficiency on state assessments. My evaluation of this school’s program utilized mixed methods to determine the viability of support services provided to second language learners. The findings of my evaluation revealed some weaknesses within the provided services and indicated …

Redefining Burnout: Exploring Common Conceptualizations And The Neurophysiology Of Chronic Stress To Establish An Integrated Allostatic Model, Danny A. Guzzi

Dissertations

Burnout is a widely researched stress-related phenomenon associated with numerous adverse outcomes for employees and organizations. Unfortunately, burnout is not well understood and research to this point has been flawed due to a lack of consensus on the definition, dimensionality, and context of the construct. Prevalent conceptualizations of burnout have been criticized for being arbitrarily developed without solid theoretical foundation and for failing to clearly distinguish burnout from depression or other work-related conditions such as compassion fatigue, secondary traumatization, and vicarious traumatization. The current project first examines relevant literature to identify commonalities among prevalent burnout conceptualizations. Then relevant stress research …

Effect Of Attentional Focus On Learning And Performance In Youth Sports, Justin Wright

Dissertations

Youth athletes are different from adult and elite athletes in several domains that include cognitive resources, working memory, automaticity of motor movements, conscious control for propensity, attentional focus, and acquisition of motor-skills. Due to significant differences between athletes, not all instructions and feedback provided by coaches are best suited for every player. Instructions and feedback may direct an athlete’s attentional focus and cognitive resources incorrectly leading to poor acquisition and performance of motor-skills. Clinical psychologists with knowledge of motor-skill acquisition, cognitive resources, learning theory, conscious control propensity, automaticity of motor movements, constrained action hypothesis, and attentional focus can follow the …

The Impact Of Male Gender Dissonance On Women’S Potential Eligibility For Advancement To K-12 Public School Superintendent, Mona Lee Montgomery

Dissertations

Purpose:The purpose of this phenomenological replication study was to discover what behaviors female administrators exhibit that may prompt male administrators with whom they work with in California public educationto demonstrate behaviors associated with gender dissonanceand to discover any impact these dissonant behaviors may have on women’s potential eligibility for advancement to the position of K-12 school superintendent.

Methodology:This qualitative phenomenological replication study explored the experiences of seven female and seven male K-12 public school superintendents in Orange, San Diego, and Riverside Counties in California. Respondents were selected based on delimiting criteria and a purposive criterion sampling method. …

Retrospective Analysis Of A Breast Health Program On Routine Annual Mammography In Low-Income, Uninsured Women, Theresa L. Morrison

Dissertations

A retrospective subject-controlled study of an ongoing Breast Health Program, at a not-for-profit, non-government assisted, volunteer clinic, was undertaken to examine mammography usage and discovery variables.

Outcomes Of Minnesota Nursing Home Residents And Their Relationship To Facility Structural And Process-Related Attributes, Mary Bliesmer

Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to observe outcomes of Minnesota nursing home residents admitted from 1988 through 1990 and identify the relationship these outcomes had to selected facility structural and process-related attributes of care.

Caring And Transformation In Oncology Nursing Administration: Paradigms Of Leadership, Barbara L. Young Summers

Dissertations

Caring has a history of being central to nursing and has long been held to be an essential component of the clinical practice of nurses involved in direct patient care activities. While nurse administrators have been recognized for their transformational leadership capabilities, less attention has been given to caring in the practice of nursing administration leadership or the effects of this leadership as experienced by their subordinates. The parallels found between transformational leadership behaviors and human caring factors provided the foundation for this study. The purpose of this study was to generate an understanding of the structure and experience of …

An Exploration Of Nurses' Knowledge Of Right Hemisphere Stroke Associated Communication Impairments, Susan K. Brooks

Dissertations

In the U. S. approximately 795,000 people experience a new or recurrent stroke yearly. Stroke survival has increased with advances in medical technology. The impact of stroke on a patient's neurological status poses critical challenges for nurses. Communication is one area impacted by stroke. Strokes affecting the brain's right hemisphere (RHS) have been described in the literature as negatively impacting communication behaviors of patients, often in a subtle manner. The purpose of this exploratory descriptive study was to examine the knowledge that RNs in North Carolina possess about communication impairments associated with RHS and how these nurses anticipate using knowledge …

The Experience Of Recurrent Breast Cancer: A Case Study, Sally Louise Maliski

Dissertations

The purposes of this study were to describe, in-depth, the experience of recurrent breast cancer and to explore methodologies consistent with a conceptual orientation based in the Complex Nonlinear Dynamical Systems perspective and transitions. A single case study, longitudinal design was used. Eleven interviews were conducted over a three-month period. Daily Symptom Distress Scale scores and bi-weekly Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale scores were obtained. Interviews were analyzed using narrative analysis based on coherence structure, and scores were graphed individually for the entire time period and for each interview period.

The Unborn One: The Human Experience Of Miscarriage, Kristen M. Swanson

Dissertations

This dissertation's purpose was to describe the human experience of miscarriage and the caring needs of the women who miscarried. Using a qualitative (modified grounded theory) research design, a convenience sample of 20 women who had miscarried within 15 weeks prior to study entry were interviewed twice about their experience with early pregnancy loss and the associated caring needs.

Impact Of Marital Quality And Psychological Well-Being On Parental Sensitivity For First-Time Mothers And Fathers: A Nursing Study, Betty Broom

Dissertations

Parents' sensitivity in reading infants' often-subtle cues is an essential part of parent-infant interactions that contributes to child development. Empirical evidence links marital quality to quality of parent-infant interaction. Little is known, however, about how marital quality affects parental sensitivity for first-time mothers and fathers. This correlational study has three purposes: (a) to test an operational model suggesting that marital quality contributes to parental sensitivity by affecting the psychological well-being of first-time mothers and fathers, (b) to learn if adding parental age and infant gender increases the model's power to predict parental sensitivity, and (c) to learn if the operational …

The Relationship Between Patient Satisfaction With Nursing Care And Nurse Staffing, Richard Alan Ridge

Dissertations

Nurse researchers and patient care administrators have long been concerned with understanding patient satisfaction with nursing care and its relationship to nurse staffing. This study focused on two major aspects of the problem, within the context of a single inpatient orthopaedic surgery unit during a three-year period. Using an ex post facto correlational design, this study used secondary data to examine (a) patient satisfaction with nursing care, and (b) the relationship of patient satisfaction with nursing care to nurse staffing. The research questions are framed within a conceptual framework based on Donabedian's model of quality assessment and stakeholder theory of …

Issues Influencing Medication Adherence In Black Women With Hypertension, Willie M. Abel

Dissertations

The purposes of this study were to: (a) describe the differences in adherent and nonadherent Black women who have hypertension (HTN), (b) examine issues that influence medication adherence, and (c) explore the relationship of reactant behaviors and medication adherence.

From Midterms To Naptime: An Autoethnography Of The Affects Of Intersectionality Of An African American Single Parent College Student, Jovon Willis

Dissertations

Abstract

According to United States Census (2016), Women in female-headed households with no spouse experienced higher rates of poverty (35.6 percent) than women in married-couple families (6.6 percent) and men in male-headed households. Having an education would significantly increase their chances of obtaining suitable employment which would also grant them income and benefits that could improve the overall quality of life for their families.

Today women are the majority on college campuses. According to The United States Census Bureau (2011), women make up 56% of college enrollment. Though the percentage of women attending college is increasing, the challenges that they …

A Mixed-Methods Study Of How Middle School Principals Build Trust With Staff Using Weisman’S Five Domains Of Trust Model, Wendy Ryerson

Dissertations

Purpose. The purpose of this explanatory mixed-methods study was to identify and describe how middle school principals established trust with teachers using Weisman’s (2010) five domains of trust: connection, concern, candor, competence, and consistency (5Cs). In addition, it was the purpose of this study to determine middle school principals’ perceived degree of importance of the 5Cs for building trust.

Methodology. This explanatory mixed-methods study used surveys and face-to-face interviews with 12 middle school principals to gather data regarding the approaches used to build trust. The survey assessed the degree of importance of the 5Cs for building trust, whereas …

Strengthening Teacher-Student Relationships: Identifying Strategies From Capturing Kids’ Hearts National Showcase Schools, Allison Cano

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore and describe the strategies that elementary teachers use to establish, maintain, and restore positive relationships with students in Capturing Kids’ Hearts National Showcase Schools.

Methodology: This study included 12 teachers from 2 elementary schools in California who received the National Showcase Award for their implementation of the Capturing Kids’ Hearts program. The principals of the 2 schools were asked to each recommend 6 teachers from their site, based on criteria provided by the researcher. Data was collected through the use of classroom observations, interviews, and artifact analysis.

Findings: In order …

The Incidence Of Stoma And Peristomal Complications During The First Three Months After Stoma Creation, Ginger Dawn Salvadalena

Dissertations

Stoma and peristomal complications comprise a variety of conditions that vary in frequency, severity, and importance to individuals who have colostomies, ileostomies, or urinary stomas. Differences in study methodology and samples, plus the lack of precise measurement of complications, have all contributed to wide variability in reported prevalence and incidence rates.

This longitudinal, descriptive, repeated measure study was used to describe the incidence of physiologic and anatomic problems of the stoma and peristomal skin, and to examine factors that may be related to these complications. Forty-three adults with stomas from two university teaching hospitals in a major Midwestern city participated. …

The Spiritual Health Of Oncology Patients: A Comparison Of Nurse And Patient Perceptions, Martha E. Highfield

Dissertations

Nurses who are committed to care of the whole person must be knowledgeable about patients' spiritual needs. This descriptive, cross-sectional survey was designed to investigate the spiritual health of oncology patients. Parallel nurse (r =.89) and patient (r =.77) Spiritual Health Inventories (SHI) and demographic sheets were distributed to a convenience sample of 40 nurse-inpatient pairs from two hospitals. Respondents included 23 patients with primary lung cancer and 27 Registered Nurses. Patients reported a normatively high level of spiritual health, positively related both to age (p < .02) and physical well-being (p < .014). Analysis of 21 matched nurse-patient SHI scores indicated that nurse respondents inaccurately assessed their patients' spiritual health. Patients and nurses ranked family members or friends and clergypersons as priority choices of spiritual caregivers. Although not generalizable, findings should assist in future studies.

Lifting Behavior, Back Pain, And Back Injury Among Registered Nurses In The Hospital Setting, Joy E. Wachs

Dissertations

Back injury among nursing personnel engaged in direct patient care in the hospital setting has been shown to be a primary occupational health concern. The primary agent of back injuries among nurses has been reported to be the moving of patients. This descriptive, cross sectional survey examined the prevalence of prescribed lifting behavior among registered nurses and the relationship between the behavior and nurse's self report of back injury and back pain. Further, using Suchman's epidemiologic framework, characteristics of the nurse, the patient, and the immediate environment were also ascertained to identify possible antecedents to the behavior.

The Lived Experience Of Nursing Students In Caring For Suffering Individuals: A Phenomenological Analysis, Susan Sweat Gunby

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to illuminate the lived experience of nursing students in caring for individuals who were suffering. A phenomenological approach was utilized consisting of four iterative steps: purposive sampling, intensive interviewing, inductive data analysis using Giorgi's (1985) method, and uncovering the essential structure of the phenomenon. Using purposive sampling, 12 generic undergraduate nursing students were recruited from a large university located in the southeastern United States. Participants were interviewed and asked to describe their experiences related to caring for a suffering individual. Interviews were audiotaped and then transcribed. The transcriptions of the interviews constituted the data …

Development Of An Instrument To Measure Hope, Judith Fitzgerald Miller

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument to measure hope in adults and to evaluate its psychometric properties. A forty item Miller Hope Scale was developed based on the critical elements of hope gleaned from a comprehensive review of literature, including the etymology of hope; as well as from an exploratory study of hope in persons who survived a critical illness. The instrument was critiqued by psychometric and content experts, content validity established and was pretested on 75 subjects. Psychometric properties of the refined instrument were determined by studying 522 healthy adults.

Factors Associated With Degree Of Adoption By Hospitals In The Central States Of The Agency For Health Care Policy And Research Clinical Practice Guideline For Management Of Cancer Pain, Martha A. Spies

Dissertations

Using contingency theory (Damanpour, 1991) and Rogers' (1995) diffusion of innovations theory, this study: (1) determined the degree of adoption of AHCPR management of cancer pain clinical practice guideline (CPG) by hospitals; and (2) examined organizational-level and individual-level factors associated with adoption of the CPG. Organizational-level (macro) factors included: (1) structural variables—functional differentiation, vertical differentiation, centralization, external/cosmopolitan communication in a social system, and internal/local communication in a social system; (2) contextual variables—competition, size, age. Individual-level (micro) factors included moderator variables—type/characteristics of the innovation (radical/incremental, relative advantage, complexity, compatibility, trialability, observability) and time/stage of adoption.