Digital Commons Network^™

Inclusion Of The Virtual Other: How Closeness On Social Media Moderates The Relationship Between Perceptions Of Close Friends’ Alcohol-Related Posting And Drinking, Angela Tanygin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Heavy drinking among young adults is a serious, longstanding public health issue. College students are particularly vulnerable to a culture of intoxication that promotes excessive drinking, which has been linked to severe consequences such as sexual assaults, car accidents, and even death. An abundance of literature has found that students’ overestimations of peer drinking norms are associated with greater alcohol use and problems. Furthermore, research has established a strong linkage between students posting and viewing peers’ alcohol-related content (ARC) on social media and increased drinking. However, there is a dearth of studies examining how closeness to close friends on social …

Ejagham Mysticism In The Funeral Practices Of The Mgbe (Ekpe) And Moninkim Institutions: Insights For Research Methodology And Theological Epistemology., Besem Etchi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The knowledge of the divine broadens and deepens as each location contributes the history, elements, and practices related to its divine revelation. This dissertation contributes from the Ejagham locations of Cameroon and Nigeria. The Ejagham precolonial institutions of Moninkim and Mgbe (Ekpe) were tuition-paid training schools for personal development and prophetic leadership. Their structured curriculum to train one’s personal and social ejong (personality), towards the Ejagham organizing principles of beauty and excellence, is replete with Ejagham mysticism and indigenous epistemology. Unfortunately, Moninkim has been misrepresented in years of scholarly research as a girl’s seclusion and coming-of-age-for-marriage rite and Mgbe (Ekpe) …

Cultural Diversity In The Body Of Christ: An African American Theological Reading Of The Book Of Revelation, Charles Gilmer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study will attempt to facilitate a more helpful reading of the text of John’s Apocalypse by placing it in an appropriate literary and historical context, deploying an African American hermeneutic, informed by the work of African American commentators such as Brian Blount, Allen Dwight Callahan, Clarice Martin, and Shanell T. Smith to develop from the text of the Apocalypse its ecclesiological content for a contemporary audience. As the church writ large (Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and indigenous expressions) wrestles with its increasing global presence and the cultural and linguistic diversity which that expanded presence creates, this study will attempt to …

On The Cultivation Of Relational Leadership Mindsets Among Graduate Supervisees In The Mental Health Professions: A Critical Interpretive Synthesis, Cristina Bucur

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In counseling supervision, leadership is often associated with supervisors’ skills, role, position, and responsibilities. However, supervisees need to learn and practice how to lead also: for example, how to promote others’ well-being, how to support, and advocate for others and self. Graduate supervisee relational leadership in the mental health professions is an intrinsic part of the purposive aspect of counseling supervision. Relational leadership in graduate counseling supervision is a purposive, interpersonal, facilitative, growth oriented, and process-based service in which leaders -expert facilitators and mentors- seek to cultivate leaders, not followers. Relational leadership is mutuality-affirming and mutuality-promoting (e.g., open dialogue, mutual …

Assessing How The Humane Health Coalition Connects Veterinary Services With Healthcare For People Experiencing Poverty And Housing Insecurity, Katie Willis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

People experiencing housing insecurity and financial hardship often prioritize their pets’ needs ahead of their own. In addition to financial concerns, some struggle to obtain medical treatment because they lack transportation or have had negative experiences with medical professionals. The Humane Health Coalition (HHC), a collaboration between Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh (HARP) and Allegheny Health Network (AHN), seeks to address these challenges. The HHC is based on the One Health Model and brings together medical and veterinary staff to provide care and resources for both pets and their owners. My research examines the implementation of this new program. I …

For The Good Of Association: The Call-And-Response Communication Ethics Of The Early Naacp, Rodney Adam Lyde

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an exploration of the formation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), from the standpoint of communication studies. In particular, this dissertation is based on the research of several crucial, communicative artifacts, including: “The Call” penned by William English Walling; the addresses, speeches, and the panel discussion of the Negro National Conference; and the editorial of the first issue The Crisis magazine. The contention is that the communication of the NAACP was catalyzed by a communication ethic, nominated as call-and-response communication ethics. Therefore, this dissertation elucidates the four practices of call-and-response communication ethics: …

Relationships Between Students’ Ict Usage, Self-Efficacy And Literacy, Malimi Kazi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Information and communication technology (ICT) usage, self-efficacy, and literacy are very important for people in the 21st century. People need them to participate successfully in various activities including learning and working. Because of the importance of ICT, nations around the world, including the United States, have developed and are implementing ICT policies. Also, in 2013 the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) introduced the International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) for grade eight students. However, ICT usage, ICT self-efficacy, and ICT literacy can be affected by students’ gender, race and socioeconomic status (SES). The purpose of …

Surface Water Quality Assessment Of Mingo Creek County Park: The Impacts Of Extractive Industries, Mikayla J. Bayto

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Historical and current extraction operations and infrastructure, including natural gas pipelines, conventional and unconventional oil and natural gas drilling, longwall coal mining, and strip coal mining, occur throughout the Mingo Creek watershed of Washington County, Pennsylvania, including Mingo Creek County Park. Mingo Creek and several associated tributaries flow through Mingo Creek County Park, eventually discharging into the Monongahela River. An independent water quality study was conducted from June 2020 through July 2023 in Mingo Creek County Park to determine if historical and current extraction activities impact Mingo Creek and its associated tributaries. Weekly sampling of Mingo Creek and associated tributaries …

The Ethical Justification Of Medical Interventions Across The Spectrum Of Healthcare For Patients Preceding The Age Of Consent: The Tension Between Surrogate Consent And Minor Assent, Erin Scroggins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation, The Ethical Justification of Medical Interventions Across the Spectrum of Healthcare for Patients Preceding the Age of Consent: the Tension Between Surrogate Consent and Minor Assent, will aim to provide ethical justification for medical intervention for patients preceding the age of consent. To begin, decision-making for medical intervention in all forms will be examined. Followed by, beginning of life interventions into complex and controversial situations for medical intervention which then leads into end-of-life considerations for patients preceding the age of consent. These chapters will pose various ethical considerations for some more contentious dilemmas. It has been pondered …

Comparative Functional And Computational Analyses Of Primate Seminal Proteins: Insights Into Sexual Selection And Hiv/Siv, Emine Feride Kahveci

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Male reproductive protein-coding genes are among the most rapidly evolving genes across many animal taxa, commonly attributed to sexual selection; however, pathogen defense mechanisms might also be contributing factors. This study aimed to both computationally and experimentally investigate the selective pressures responsible for the rapid evolution of seminal proteins. In the first part, the research focused on sexual selection in the form of post-copulatory sperm competition as a driving force behind the evolution of kallikrein related peptidase 3 (KLK3), also known as prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a key prostatic seminal protein. KLK3 is responsible for the liquefaction of semen coagulum through …

Quaternary Diamond-Like Sulfides For Nonlinear Optical Applications: Investigation Into Composition-Structure-Property Relationships Of The I2-Ii-Iv-Vi4 And I4-Ii-Iv2-Vi7 Formulae, Jordan Kelly

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The research work presented in this dissertation focuses on the synthesis, characterization, and property assessment of new and existing quaternary diamond-like semiconductor (DLS) materials for the potential application in infrared (IR) nonlinear optics (NLO). Chapter 2 discusses the previously discovered temperature-dependent polymorphs of Cu₂ZnGeS₄ (CZGS); however, the IR NLO properties, neutron powder diffraction data, and single crystal X-ray diffraction structures were previously undetermined. The high-temperature α-CZGS polymorph was superior to the low-temperature β-CZGS analog in both second harmonic generation (SHG) and laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT). Chapter 3 presents the discovery of Li₂MgGeS₄ and comparison …

Perinatal Ethics: The Role Of Ethics Consultation Around Parental Dilemmas Before And After Birth, Giulia Adele Dinicola

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation, “Perinatal Ethics: the Role of Ethics Consultation around Parental Dilemmas Before and After Birth,” aims to examine the nuances of clinical ethics consultations in the field of perinatal ethics. Perinatal ethics entails ethical quandaries that emerge during a life-changing shift in prospective parents’ lives: pregnancy, childbirth, and the first days to months of their child’s life. Although pregnancy and childbirth often come with happy and joyful memories; this is not always the case. When fetal anomalies are diagnosed either with prenatal screening tests, or when maternal health complications develop during pregnancy, or when delivery-related emergencies occur during childbirth, …

Transforming Chaplain Ethics: The Clinical Ethics Of Spiritual Care In A Pluralistic Healthcare Environment In The United States, Robert Alan Price

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation, “Transforming Chaplain Ethics: The Clinical Ethics of Spiritual Care in a Pluralistic Healthcare Environment in the United States,” aims to examine the clinical ethics of religious and spiritual care provided by clinical chaplains for patients and families receiving treatment in a pluralistic healthcare context in the United States.

Clinical chaplains are more than clergypersons and they are more than clinicians; they are a highly specialized marriage of both worlds. There is a fundamental asymmetry between functioning as a leader in a local religious community or faith tradition and providing clinical spiritual care in a pluralistic healthcare environment. This …

The Contributions Of Philosophical Anthropology To Healthcare Ethics, Bura Koroba

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The first principles of bioethics, autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice have contributed immensely to healthcare ethics. The procedural approach streamlines the decision-making process, protects vulnerable subjects, and fosters stability and trust in the patient-caregiver relationship. Yet, the principles are demonstrably insufficient, riddled with limitations and loopholes that could stand in the way of care.[i] Several recommendations have been proffered to remedy the deficiencies. Value ethics, for instance, has been touted as a proficient addendum to the foundations established by the principles. Still, these have not sufficiently addressed all arising issues in bioethics. Besides the challenges encountered in decision-making, opposing …

Iso 14001:2015 Environmental Management System Accreditation Framework For Stephen F. Austin State University, A Member Of The University Of Texas System, Breanna Gabriela Duran

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The International Organization of Standardization is a worldwide federation of membered bodies. The mission of ISO is to achieve the balance between the environment, society, and the economy. These are essential to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. The ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management System accreditation allows any business or organization, no matter the type, size or product to showcase its commitment toward environmental stewardship. This accreditation requires the development and successful implementation of an Environmental Management System (EMS). The EMS is set out to continually improve a company’s environmental …

Pedal Points: Harmony And The Double-Action Pedal System In Modern Harp Music, Mckenna Jennings

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pedals are an invisible guide in chromatic harp repertoire. While the evolution of tonality and rise in chromaticism incentivized the invention of the double-action pedal harp, the unique restraints and extensions of this technological system influence harmony and pitch collections in chromatic harp music. This thesis explores the pedal harp and the influence the affordance and idiomacy of the pedal layout exerts onto chromatic harp repertoire. It draws on embodiment and schema theory to describe patterns of pedal motion in harp music, thus presenting and demonstrating an original theory of pedal schemas. Pedal schemas are patterns of motion defined by …

The Ethical Connection Between Patient Care And Patient Safety, Caitlin Walsh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation uses the care ethics framework to describe potential solutions to patient safety issues seen across different areas in healthcare. Many of the works already published on Care Ethics apply the theory to only one aspect of relationships in healthcare. This dissertation uses Care Ethics to describe different levels of relationships in the various tiers and domains of healthcare in the United States. It first will describe the relationship between patients and their healthcare teams, then it describes the relationship between society and patient’s access to care. There are many barriers in society that prevent patients from accessing care …

Preventing The Violent (Re)Victimization Of Sexual Minority Populations: The Role Of Social Support Networks., Bryan Charles Moore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Every year, interpersonal violence affects an important segment of the world population, having deleterious effects on the victims, their families, and societies. Recent scholarship indicates that sexual and gender minority population groups are overrepresented among those who experience or have experienced verbal, psychological, physical, and/or sexual violence. Using an integrative approach, the current study links the past and the present to identify the contextual factors that may increase or decrease the sexual minorities’ risk of violent victimization during adulthood. This dissertation uses as a theoretical framework Bronfenbrenner’s (1977, 1979, 1994) social ecological model of human development as well as its …

Still I Rise: A Critical Utopian Action Research Study On Black Femme-Identifying And Gender Expansive Emerging Adults In Technology Leadership., Alisia Mcclain

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This Critical Utopian Action Research (CUAR) study delves into the intersection of authentic leadership, Black Feminist Thought (BFT), and technology leadership development, focusing on the perspectives of emerging adult Black femme-identifying or gender-expansive individuals. Addressing two primary research questions, the study investigates their idealized visions for technology leadership programs and discerns key factors differentiating authentic leadership from models incorporating BFT. Through qualitative analysis of Future-Creating Workshop outputs and participant narratives, the study unveils multifaceted themes. Participants articulate a vision of technology leadership development rooted in authenticity, intersectionality, and inclusivity. Their ideal programs prioritize celebrating complex identities, engaging through technology, and …

The Affable Raphael: Milton's Surrogate Instructor In Paradise Lost., Beau Kilpatrick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

John Milton’s Paradise Lost (1667) is a beautifully written epic that continues to be a stalwart text in the English literary canon, with unlimited potential for interpretation. In this dissertation I propose that Paradise Lost can be read as a pedagogical lesson for Milton’s “fit audience,” where the author implements his views on education in the context of heaven, hell, and Paradise. In the poem, Milton presents three pedagogical methodologies: first, the wrong way to knowledge is presented through Satan’s manipulations of the fallen angels and Eve; second, the divine way to knowledge is illustrated via Michael’s prophecy to Adam …

You Don’T Look Sick: Epistemic Injustice, Ethos, And Embodied Expertise In Narratives Of Chronic Illness., Caitlin Burns Allen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation project emerges at a cultural moment when diagnoses of chronic illness are increasing, and heightened attention is being paid to gendered medical bias and chronically ill women’s negative experiences both within and outside of the medical system. Analysis of personal narratives written by women and nonbinary people with chronic illnesses revealed deeply entrenched cultural logics related to health and gender and the significant affective and material consequences for the mobilization of those logics. Chapter One of the dissertation describes the exigence of the project in more detail, provides a robust overview of the dissertation’s methods, and reviews related …

Authentic Fake: Authenticity And Authentication., Suyun Son

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My thesis exhibition questions the modern sanctification of authenticity. No longer believing in objective truths, the postmodern society seeks epistemic grounding on being true to oneself. The categories of authentic-or-fake replaced the binary of true-or-false. But authenticity is a trojan horse for authentication. As a Korean American artist, I'm encouraged to express my “authentic” Korean identity. This encouragement can also imply my works will receive recognition as authentic and meaningful only when they embody Korean cultural expression. Authenticity becomes a performance for the sake of authentication. Ironically, authenticity turns into an act of conformity/confirmation. Authenticity demands you stay true to …

Exploring Resilience With Neuroimaging: Moderators Of The Impacts Of Childhood Traumatic Stress On Fear Processing., Karisa June Hunt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Childhood trauma is an alarming public health crisis, and the field of trauma research is relatively underdeveloped given population rates of childhood trauma and post-trauma pathology. Even less studied than the impacts of trauma are the impacts of resilience, and the protective factors that foster it. It is widely acknowledged that an investigation of trauma is incomplete without an investigation of its impacts on fear processing. Understanding the neural underpinnings of resilience to childhood trauma during fear conditioning is vital to the development of therapeutic interventions able to moderate its devastating impacts. The present study investigated the complex neurobiological interplay …

Development And Evaluation Of A Modeling Platform For Evaluating Immunotherapeutic Efficacy In The Tumor Microenvironment., Dylan Andrew Goodin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The tumor microenvironment (TME) represents the complex outcome of numerous tumor, stromal, and immune interactions, and whose composition can significantly affect treatment response. Particularly, immunotherapeutic efficacy is subject to multiple tumor-specific TME interactions that may be difficult to evaluate/predict clinically. Mathematical modelling has been formulated to evaluate specific aspects of the TME, including vasculature, ECM deposition, and immune-tumor interactions. However, the computational challenge of simulating multiple TME interactions has led to sacrificing varying degrees of model generalizability and clinical relevance. This work describes increased computational performance of a 3D continuum model that simulates tumor tissue, ECM, and vasculature using a …

Dementia Of The Alzheimer’S Type In Adults With Down Syndrome: Knowledge Among Graduate Students In Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, And Speech-Language Pathology., Abigail Regan Donaway

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This non-experimental study utilized a convenience sample (N = 322) to investigate graduate students in physical therapy (PT), occupational therapy (OT), and speech-language pathology’ s (SLP) knowledge of the connection between Down syndrome and dementia of the Alzheimer's type (DAT). Ninety-two-point-five percent of participants were female, and 79.80% were white. All participants completed a survey comprised of items relating to information about general knowledge (i.e. facts) of the association between DS and DAT, the signs/symptoms that occur in each stage of dementia of the Alzheimer’s type for people with Down syndrome, and familiarity regarding the diagnosis and care. Descriptive and …

Faculty And "Teams": Academic Literacies In The Post-Lockdown, Digital University., Morgan Suzanne Blair

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The increased presence of disruptive digital technologies in academia has been a subject of multidisciplinary scholarly conversation and public speculation over the past few decades. Many literacy studies scholars have contributed to this discourse, examining topics like multimodal literacies and perceptions of agency among students. These scholars have noted with skepticism that such technologies may mask operations of power, surveillance, and control which serve the demands of an increasingly “corporate” or “neoliberal” university. Building upon this scholarship, my study contends that the evolving literacy environment of the digital university requires a closer examination of corporate-sponsored narratives and literacy practices implicating …

As The Night Is Lit: The Nocturnal Urban Landscapes Of Childe Hassam., Diana M. Wilder

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The scientific investigations into light that began with the Enlightenment garnered added information useful for artists. To depict the changes in light due to weather, time of day, and season more accurately, artists took the information reaped from studies of the refraction of light gained from Isaac Newton’s color theories. The new technological advances of gaslight and electric arc lighting also changed the way that light was represented on canvas. Artists were now able to paint in their ateliers due to modern lighting that would light up the rooms like the day. Some artists decided to explore the night and …

Tongue-Tie: Impact On Oropharyngeal Function During Swallow., Kolbie A. Vincent

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Swallowing is an intricate process involving over 50 muscle pairs and numerous nerves, with dysphagia resulting from deficits in various stages (Hennessy & Goldenberg, 2016). Lingual restriction may adversely impact swallowing function, affecting bolus preparation, size, and overall efficiency. Tongue-tie can pose challenges to speech, chewing, and swallowing (Becker & Mendez, 2022; Chaubal et al, 2011; García-Pola, M. J., et al., 2002). This pilot study seeks to determine how tongue-tie affects swallowing function in an adult male, and whether surgical revision of a submucosal lingual tether leads to measurable changes in oropharyngeal swallow function. Results showed inconsistent changes in diameter …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Computer-Based Instruction For Training Pre-Service Teachers In Simultaneous Prompting., Mary P. Elliott

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There has been a significant increase in the use of distance education (DE) in institutions of higher education (IHEs) that is leading to a shift in pedagogy and practices. In the fall of 2021, approximately 61% of undergraduate students nationally were enrolled in at least one online course. A growing number of teacher preparation programs, including special education programs, are utilizing asynchronous course and program designs to combat the critical shortage of certified teachers, yet little research has examined which asynchronous teaching methods are effective for the development of critical teaching skills such as evidence-based practices. One asynchronous teaching method …

Exploring Influencing Factors On The Adoption Of Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions During Pandemics: Covid-19 As An Example., Ahmed Abdulmohsen I Alobaydullah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Pandemics are associated with loss of life, hospitalizations, and disruption to people’s social and economic lives. As the 2019 pandemic illustrates, COVID-19 can be prevented by pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). Recommended measures such as wearing a mask, washing hands, social distancing, and self-quarantine have been proven to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Identifying the factors associated with adherence to NPIs is the first step in understanding which levers of change to pull when designing health promotion interventions such as health communication campaigns. This dissertation explores these factors and proposes a health communication framework during pandemics. Research Questions: …